Re: Pain this morning - SCIATICA

[Guest guest]

My physical therapist was lecturing me about my own hip pain, which does not

seem to be sciatica. My pain only hurts when I'm standing or lying and feels

like a pair of pliers pinching the joint with great force. No pain while

walking or moving.

My therapist said that with sciatica, the nerve becomes irritated because it

cannot pass freely through the hip structures as it should. He said that to

provide room for the nerve, the process is to decrease inflammation, do

stretches to increase space, and exercise the muscles so they are formed in a

way that the nerve is not trapped or caught. I don't know, but it sounded

reasonable to me.

I guess a hip that is flexible, and muscular, is like a free-flowing freeway,

and inflammation or congestion is just like a congested freeway and the nerve

gets caught in traffic, and then starts honking in pain.

He explained the sciatica to me because I don't think he was very confident in

the sciatic exercises he gave me for me non-sciatic pain. But, he didn't know

what to give me for my problem. He just said that it can't hurt to strengthen.

Well, the hip still hurts, and more. Ha ha to me. I am still doing the

exercises, hoping that the hip congestion or whatever will stop when I get my

traffic going again. We'll see. I give it a few more weeks before I give up.

Jade

wrote:

I awoke this morning with the worst pain I ever felt. My right leg's sciatica

wouldn't allow me to put any weight on the right leg.

[Guest guest]

--- jade tadaima wrote:

>

> My physical therapist was lecturing me about my own hip pain, which does not

seem to be sciatica. > My therapist said that with sciatica, the nerve becomes

irritated because it cannot pass freely through the hip structures as it should.

Jade -

While sciatic nerve impingement can cause pain in the hip, the impingement

doesn't happen at the hip. The nerve is being pinched where it exits the spine,

either by a bulging disk, stenosis or other spinal condition, and it radiates

down the hip and leg.

True sciatica is a radiculopathy, which means nerve pain originating from damage

at the root of the nerve, at the spine. This is different from peripheral

neuropathy, such as in diabetes, where the damage orginates from the ends of the

nerves, out in the feet for example.

There are sciatic-like symptoms caused by nerve impingement in other areas, such

as piriformis syndrome in which the big piriformis muscle spasms and cramps down

on the nerve, but officially that is not sciatica. The terms don't mean much

when the pain is the same, but your therapist certainly ought to know the

difference! Otherwise how does he (or she?) have a flippin' clue about how to

treat you?!

Your therapist's statement in the above quote makes me very suspicious of just

how well-trained s/he is. I'm a huge believer in physical therapy for back and

sciatic pain, but you've got to have a therapist who is very knowledgeable and

experienced, or at best they're a waste of your time and money, and at worst

they could do even more damage.

Cheryl in AZ

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