why does sciatic pain come back with a vengence?

01-05-2015, 05:24 AM

Through no obvious trigger I suddenly developed sciatica in mid October 2014 with extreme pain through my left buttock and pins-and-needles tightness in my left toes and a numb left calf. It was severe and disabling for about a week and then slowly wore off until it was about 10% as bad as it had been. About 4/5 weeks later it came back but as spasms of pain (which made me have to stand up in meetings) and then reduced again and the numbness and pins-and-needles have resolved. However a few days ago the pain came back with avengence to the point I dont know what to do with myself and the only thing that makes it tolerable is sleeping having taken Zapain and Naproxen. I was told it may spontaneously resolve in about 4-6 weeks but this recurrence is truly depressing. I do the stretches!

01-05-2015, 08:33 AM

Welcome to the board. Sciatic pain is caused by irritation or compression to the sciatic nerve. It frequently is a symptom of a lower lumbar disc problem, such as a bulge or herniation. The pain comes and goes because the nerve is being irritated, and then the cause of irritation subsides. This could be permanent or the cause may return.

While it is important to keep the muscles of the back and core strong, balanced and working together, attempting to achieve this in the midst of a sciatic attack is not the best idea. Static stretching can also make things more irritated.

Have you had any other symptoms of a possible lumbar problem?

01-06-2015, 05:53 AM

Yes have learnt the hard way that stretching when its really bad aggrevates the situation. Returned to GP today and have been prescribed amitriptilene but it appears he cant or wont predict when ot might relieve or recur. Its definitely not muscular and I dont have any other symptoms. Lying flat certainly eases the pain but rather interferes with living

01-06-2015, 06:53 AM

Without a MRI no one can tell you how long sciatic pain will last since they do not know the cause of the nerve compression. Avoid things that will irritate the nerve: bending or twisting at the waist, sitting longer than about 15 minutes at a time, lifting or carrying anything remotely heavy, etc.

You can try icing the area, placing the cold pack over the lower lumbar area, 15-20 minutes at a time, every hour, round the clock if needed.

Sciatic pain is a weird thing. People can have a bout early on and then not be bothered again for decades. There are no easy answers!

why does sciatic pain come back with a vengence?

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