Injured, all advice welcome

[golden_arm]

About a week ago I saw my doc because I had this crazy pain going through my left ass into my left leg everytime I got up or sat down, or anything I guess involving a change in the angle of my pelvis. He told me its Sciatica, some sort of injury to my sciatic nerve. The pain is truly terrible, but I can still manage all my lifts with a little grit and ibuprofen. Does anyone here have any experience with this type of injury, or can offer some advice as to what might help with the pain, or how long I can expect to have to deal with this? GA

[Mr Ontario]

You didn't hit a nerve in the past while injecting did you?

[bigdaddydrew123]

ive had this on and off couple of times ibuprophen works great, mine always goes away.try rmt , might be good for it as well as chyropractor

[golden_arm]

Mr Ontario- I always use quads and delts for pinning, as my flexability isnt great I find it difficult to hit glutes myself, and I dont trust anyone els to do it for me. And, knock on wood, I have yet to hit a nerve. Biddaddydrew- I will definitely try some ibuprofen, and Im seeing a chiropracter this monday, but Im not sure what you mean by 'rmt'. Can you please explain? Thanks for your help guys.

[Houstonbc]

i think he means registered massage therapist bro

[SiLvErBaK]

Mr Ontario- I always use quads and delts for pinning, as my flexability isnt great I find it difficult to hit glutes myself, and I dont trust anyone els to do it for me. And, knock on wood, I have yet to hit a nerve. Biddaddydrew- I will definitely try some ibuprofen, and Im seeing a chiropracter this monday, but Im not sure what you mean by 'rmt'. Can you please explain? Thanks for your help guys.

sciatica is most often caused by a herniated disc... that is, a disc in your back(lower portion) that that is damaged. An odd movement or too heavy a movement without proper support ie. weight belt, improper lifting method, lack of opposing stabalizing muscles, will cause the soft squishy tissue in between your vertebrae to herniate, or bulge out. this in turn causes pressure on one of the main nerves running down the spinal cord and into each leg, the worse the herniation, the worse the pain. If u damage it excessivly surgery will be required. rest, lighter lifting and, proper training methods will probably allow it to heal. then you'll be fine again.

[Tank]

Bro here are the things you need to address.

IT band is way too tight get some one to do some PNF stretching for that area. Also do some active stretching for the piriformis and Glutes. Do some static stretching for your hip flexors. And start doing 3 to one ratio for the hamstrings to the quads for your training. Remember the hams do three things and to involve all three actions perform the following. Reverse hyper (feet wide due to the biceps femoris being overactive), Romanian Deadlift, Ham curl with toes in again due to the inner hams being too weak. For quads do some split squats or really controlled lunges. Also look into abdominal bracing vs TVA activation. You should hold your breathe when exerting to maintain spine integraty, the breathing out is for the aerobic crowd, I can post some studies if you wish but a great Canadian that confirmed this is Stuart McGill great for back info. One last thing your obliques are too weak work them also. Hope this helps bro.

[spiderman7]

Robin Mckenzie has written an easy to follow guide called "Treat your own back"
These exercises worked wonders for me when I pulled my back out. Even to this day I still incorporate them into my workouts. I've done massage,chiro and physio but it was not enough and only temporary. After seeking all said and done I was finally sent to a Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in Sport related injury in Toronto.

[Roid Pimp]

I have had a nightmare with this nerve over the last few years. Usually ends up with a trip to the hospital for a few shots of muscle relaxer cause i can't breathe, much less walk it hurts so bad. CORE strengthening is the only way over it. Every time the doc's prescribe physio they just get me working core, back, transverse, bla bla bla. Only way to take the stress off your discs. good luck.

[golden_arm]

Thanks for all the advice bros. Tank- Im still digesting your response, probably will be for the next hour lol. Stretching is definitely something I need to incorperate more of into my workouts. I used to be very flexible during my days in martial arts, but since then I have stopped stretching almost entirely. Tank Im amazed how accurately you nailed my weak points, and will do my best to follow your suggestions. The only thing that concerns me about PNF stretching is I understand it can weaken muscles, decrease endurance, slow neuromuscular control and coordination, and decrease joint stability (according to wikipedia :)) Roid Pimp- I feel your pain, I have a bit of a chest cold right now, and when I inhale deeply or cough pain shoots through my left buttock and leg. My problem with core work right now is any sort of crunch or sit up movement is unbearably painful. Any idea how I might work around that? Again thanks for your help bros

[Tank]

PNF will make you weak like static stretching based on its length. I suggest you do PNF 3 hours after a work out for 6 reps of 4 second contracted holds then do Static. PNF will increase your range of motion the fastest where the static maintains both can weaken you so I recommend active 2 second holds ten times before a work out and dynamic streteches like lunges and arm circles. Also work on stretching your biceps femoris. Glad my past info helped you out

[Roid Pimp]

Well i'm not sure what to tell you with that. if i get a shot it all clears up with in a few days and i can start to work my core again. i can always tell when i slack off on the core cause that’s when the pain comes back. if its a constant pain, maybe a shot of Tetrapanz(sp) is worth it to get you back on track. Anti-inflammatory are your other choice but it will take so long and it screws your training as your body will not build muscle properly. And the whole coughing thing, i remember having to curl in to a ball to couch so i would not pass out it was that bad! lol

[golden_arm]

Quick Update: I began a stretching routine geared towards herniated disc induced sciatica recovery, and have been making tremendous progress since. The pain has gone from truly crippling to a mere nuisance, and Im now focusing on getting my hams up to speed with my quads and redoubling my efforts toward core strength. Thanks again for the advice brothers, all of it was absorbed and appreciated.