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I was under a load of stress near the tail end of October 2004. Recently married. My job was keeping me at the work late. We were selling and showing one apartment and moving to another apartment.
One night, I was lifting and hauling heavy boxes of books and dishes when I felt a sharp pain and burn in my lower back. My doctor did not think it was serious, and believed it would heal. I had minor sciatic pain on and off for years and was used to it.
But the nerve pain grew into my right buttock and eventually down the side of my right leg into my big toe. It became a sharper stabbing pain over the next few days. The muscles started to spasm and tighten in my hamstring and calf. My big toe tingled. My right buttock burned intensely for weeks. Walking, bending and sitting became painful.
Finally, my doctor sent me for lumbar MRI scans and an EMG/NCV test. The results revealed herniated disks at L4-L5 and L5-S1. The tests confirmed impingement of the sciatic nerve on my right side.
After many years of trials and tribulation, I am better now. I still continue to deal with this chronic pain ever since the fall of 2004. When i think about it, my degenerating disks and bad back problems started years earlier. The signs were there, but neither my doctors nor anyone else had warned me that this could become a chronic disabling situation.
Had I known this situation was brewing, I would have changed my lifestyle and taken the steps needed. Prevention was something I had no knowledge of. What I can do now is to try to find relief for my bad back problem. And in the process, help others understand their options as I continue to search for the latest news in treatment advances.
Ian,
Clicked on your blog through the SFLOI site.
Fascinating stuff.
I had some sciatic pain when I first started working, and significant, though intermittent, lower back pain in the last couple of years from the constant carrying of the little one. Also, my dad had a history of back pain for years. So I consider myself to be at risk.
You mention prevention in this post. I read the tips posted through the links. Which tips do you think are best and is there anything further you suggest?
See you around.
thanks Seung,
well, as we age our spinal disks degenerate. Especially in the areas that carry the most load, and are used for twisting. Neck and Lower back disks. But you wouldn’t know they are degenerating or bulging until it’s too late and you feel pain. Good news is, most back pain gets better over time. Nature will heal and restore your disk back to a proper state. But for chronic back pain, we have to go further and seek solutions.
i suggest, BEFORE you get into real trouble – see your dr. or find a great physical therapist who can show you the correct exercises to strengthen your lower back. Performing the correct stretches. walking, standing, sitting correctly. ergonomically. is critical. All this stuff is on the internet. But i can direct you to some pain specialists and a great physical therapist if you like.
i can show you the exercises that i do,. and they may be right for you as well. But that’s the thing. Everybody eventually has back pain, but we’re all different, so what’s right for me may not be right for you.
So, the obvious and most common cause of sciatic pain is a herniated or bulging disk hitting a nerve. Start with your symptoms, record your pain.
A. What makes your pain better, worse ?
B. what does it feel like and how often are you in pain ?
C. When did it begin and what incident caused it (over time, or a sudden jolt) ?
D. what’s your pain level ?
and find help now. that’s what i would do to prevent further troubles.
too bad i missed the meeting at Gil’s pad. couldn’t be helped. See you soon !