leg and derriere pain - Dr. says it's sciatica

[pjrose]

PJ, glad you're feeling a little better. Hopefully you'll recover without the need for any further tests, but if an MR is ordered, a friendly tip: Research your options on where you can have it done, and select a state-of-the-art (ask - how old is the system? When was it last upgraded?) high-field 1.5 or 3.0 Tesla system. Good luck!

Thank you for this suggestion.

Our hospital is fairly new but I will still check on that.

PJ

 

[MuranoJo]

Glad to hear you're feeling better! I'm sure the thoughts of chocolate or mini-pies relaxed your muscles.

What is a bolster? Sounds an awful lot like a pillow or something to prop the knees up and relax the lower back.

I wrestle with off & on lower back and related hip and sciatica issues at times. (Probably due to too much time at a desk.) I am on a mission to find or make something that will elevate my knees at night. Maybe a customized cut of a firm foam. What I really want is one of those beds (Tempurpedic?) which you can adjust to the position to elevate the knees.

 

[pjrose]

Glad to hear you're feeling better! I'm sure the thoughts of chocolate or mini-pies relaxed your muscles.

What is a bolster? Sounds an awful lot like a pillow or something to prop the knees up and relax the lower back.

I wrestle with off & on lower back and related hip and sciatica issues at times. (Probably due to too much time at a desk.) I am on a mission to find or make something that will elevate my knees at night. Maybe a customized cut of a firm foam. What I really want is one of those beds (Tempurpedic?) which you can adjust to the position to elevate the knees.

Exactly - in this case it is a firm foam long triangular pillow to put wherever you need it to keep you from rolling over, or to prop you up, etc.

Temperpedic beds are not adjustable, they are a form-fitting foam that you kind of sink into and it cradles you....some like them, some don't. There are pillows made for the purpose of elevating the knees; Google and Amazon are your friends! An adjustable bed might also be good, but a lot more expensive than a few bolsters.

 

[Passepartout]

You can get an adjustable TempurPedic here: http://www.tempurpedic.com/Adjustable-Bases/Adjustable-Bases.asp If you want to spend the money. We got one for DW's 94 y.o. dad in his assisted living appt. He couldn't get out of it. Too soft. Too much money (water) over the dam.

Jim

 

[lvhmbh]

I suggested the MRI because my Sports Medicine MD/Surgeon had me get one two weeks after my first episode. I did it during a sailing trip in the Grenadines - flew back to FL and then, finally, to NY where I went to the Dr. He treats/treated (quite a while ago) all the local professional teams. Anyway, he said yep it is sciatica - after viewing the MRI he insisted I get - and said the only thing he would recommend besides the laying down stretches was to walk. Now, I have to tell ya the walking hurt but.....after a while all the pain went away. Sciatica is not cured - can't be as far as I know without surgery of some kind - but with exercise you can stave it off. I ride a bike now and walk in the pool and I (cross fingers) have not had an episode for years.

 

[Chrisky]

Yes, I'm a firm believer in exercise. As LVHMBH says, whatever the problem exercise won't cure it, but strengthening all the muscles will definitely alleviate the pain. I also like to recommend to anyone with any sort of lower back pain to try to get into a Pilates class where the exercises on done on a reformer. Pilates done this way is an excellent muscles builder without putting a strain on the lower back.

 

[geekette]

+1 Pilates.

I've not done reformer but P in general is extremely beneficial in many ways. there are a lot of different exercises so you can avoid the very painful ones and pick something else.

definitely start out with an instructor to make sure you are doing it right, not causing your body more problems.

 

[MuranoJo]

Some time ago, DH handed me a Dr. Oz article in the newspaper and I wish I would have kept it.

Anyway, his advice for lower back or hip pain (and sciatica is related I believe), that walking is the best solution. He said it may be painful for at least a week, but walking apparently reduces inflammation which many times is the culprit.

One of my sisters had lower back surgery (laser I believe) and she also says Pilates is very effective.

 

[pjrose]

Some time ago, DH handed me a Dr. Oz article in the newspaper and I wish I would have kept it.

Anyway, his advice for lower back or hip pain (and sciatica is related I believe), that walking is the best solution. He said it may be painful for at least a week, but walking apparently reduces inflammation which many times is the culprit.

One of my sisters had lower back surgery (laser I believe) and she also says Pilates is very effective.

Thanks. I think sitting on my rear on TUG and Facebook are putting too much pressure on the tailbone....I'll bet that's part of the problem.

 

[lvhmbh]

:hysterical: The Dr. did tell me that riding in a car/taxi was not a good idea (I know you have to but he stressed as little as possible) and sitting for any length of time!

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

I have had back problems since I was about 18, but a few years ago the pain I had was severe, didn't stay gone after chiropractics and started running down my leg. I finally got an MRI and it was spinal stenosis. I had a laminectomy and it was much better. I still have some back problems, but nothing like that. X-rays will not show up something like the spinal stenosis, an MRI will.
Liz

 

[pjrose]

I have had back problems since I was about 18, but a few years ago the pain I had was severe, didn't stay gone after chiropractics and started running down my leg. I finally got an MRI and it was spinal stenosis. I had a laminectomy and it was much better. I still have some back problems, but nothing like that. X-rays will not show up something like the spinal stenosis, an MRI will.
Liz

What are those?

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal cord causing nerve compression. The laminectomy was an outpatient arthroscopic surgery where the doctor moved the nerve out of the way and scraped or somehow removed whatever was causing the narrowing of the spinal column and putting pressure on the nerve. Then he put the nerve back in place and the recovery was not bad. I was taking pain pills for about 3 days, but up walking the day after the surgery and out walking the week after. I was told to walk a mile a day to help the discs and help heal. I was off work for 6 weeks and was told to be really careful bending and lifting for about 6 months and not to lift more than 20 pounds.
Liz

 

[Phydeaux]

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal cord causing nerve compression. The laminectomy was an outpatient arthroscopic surgery where the doctor moved the nerve out of the way and scraped or somehow removed whatever was causing the narrowing of the spinal column and putting pressure on the nerve. Then he put the nerve back in place and the recovery was not bad. I was taking pain pills for about 3 days, but up walking the day after the surgery and out walking the week after. I was told to walk a mile a day to help the discs and help heal. I was off work for 6 weeks and was told to be really careful bending and lifting for about 6 months and not to lift more than 20 pounds.
Liz

No it is not. It is a narrowing of the spinal canal that encompasses the spinal cord, causing pressure on the neural foramina.

I think what you're referring to is a arthroscopic disectomy, not laminectomy. A laminectomy procedure is a surgical procedure removing the laminae thereby allowing the herniated disc to relieve it's pressure against the nerve, and it is not an outpatient procedure. A disectomy uses an arthroscope and removes part of the herniated disc itself, not bone (lamina).

 

[pjrose]

Either way, the former is ouchy and the latter amazing.

How tiny is a nerve? Isn't it even thinner than a sewing thread? Or like one of the tiny threads that together make up a sewing thread?

 

[heathpack]

Stenosis= narrowing of the normal size of an opening. Stenosis of the spinal canal is a narrowing of the size of the spinal canal that results in compression of the structures in the canal (either nerve roots or spinal cord, depending on the location along the spine- in your case, it would be nerve roots). The foramen is the opening by which the nerve roots exit the spinal canal. Foraminal stenosis results in nerve root impingement, but outside the spinal canal. The symptoms of either form of stenosis would be the same in the lumbar spine- ie, either could cause sciatica. If the compression is at the level of the spinal canal, other nerve roots that run through that area of the spinal canal can be affected. In the lumbar spine, the other nerve roots of concern are the sacral nerve roots that control urinary/fecal continence (too much information?!).

An MRI can readily diagnosis spinal vs foraminal stenosis. Some/many patients (dogs anyway) have both. The compression is typically due to a combination of soft tissues (disc herniation, ligamentous hypertrophy/thickening) and the development or arthritic bone spurs (osteophytes).

An "-ectomy" is a surgery that removes something. An "-otomy" is a surgery that enters or opens something. The lamina is the roof of the spinal canal. Therefore a laminectomy is a surgery in which the roof of the spinal canal is removed (for the purpose of decompressing the cord or nerve roots). A discectomy is a surgery to remove a (typically) herniated disc. A foramenotomy is a surgery that enlarges the size of the intervertebral foramen in order to create more space for the nerve root as it exits the spinal canal.

If you were my patient, you'd be a dog of course, and for your first episode of pain with no loss of neurologic function, you'd be prescribed rest and pain meds. You'd only get an MRI if that approach failed (or, lol, you were a Guide Dog- then you'd get an MRI right away and at a discount to boot).

Hopefully you are feeling better soon.

H

 

[pjrose]

I appreciate the explanations above.

I'm feeling much better, though shopping with DD (for the followers of the DD saga, she is now home - yay!!!) did take a toll on my right rear and thigh.

Heath: Does the doggie get some pies or pops along with the meds and bed rest?

 

[heathpack]

Either way, the former is ouchy and the latter amazing.

How tiny is a nerve? Isn't it even thinner than a sewing thread? Or like one of the tiny threads that together make up a sewing thread?

The sciatic nerve is one of the biggest nerves in the body. In a dog, several nerve roots combine to form the sciatic nerve. The one involved with spinal problems at the lumbosacral disc space is the nerve root arising from the 7th lumbar spinal segment (humans only have 5 lumbar spinal segments, so I guess it would be the nerve root of the 5th lumbar spinal nerve).

The L7 nerve root in a big dog is about the size of a strand of spaghetti. I'm guessing yours would be about twice as big.

H

 

[pjrose]

The sciatic nerve is one of the biggest nerves in the body. In a dog, several nerve roots combine to form the sciatic nerve. The one involved with spinal problems at the lumbosacral disc space is the nerve root arising from the 7th lumbar spinal segment (humans only have 5 lumbar spinal segments, so I guess it would be the nerve root of the 5th lumbar spinal nerve).

The L7 nerve root in a big dog is about the size of a strand of spaghetti. I'm guessing yours would be about twice as big.

H

Thanks - I find this all fascinating!

 

[heathpack]

Heath: Does the doggie get some pies or pops along with the meds and bed rest?

Haha, no, maybe one biscuit in the office. But usually they get put on a diet.

H

 

[glypnirsgirl]

For me, I find that driving and the contant pressure on the accelerator are the worst culprits for the onset of episodes.

I have found that doing exercises similar to the ones on the chiropractic you tube videos are extremely helpful. I especially find the paraformis stretch provides a great deal of relief --- he deomonstrates that stretch in the second video.

Also, if I get up from my chair at least once per hour to do a couple of very shallow squats, plies and then walk around for a minute that at the end of the day I am in pretty good shape. If i stay stuck in my chair, I am in misery.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

elaine

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

I found that driving my Legacy sedan to pt was a killer, while driving my DH's Ford 150 (with pedal adjusted high) was fine. I think that means any new car needs to have that kind of straight down foot position.
Liz

 

[SueDonJ]

... If you were my patient, you'd be a dog of course ...

I agree with PJ, your posts are fascinating and it's so nice for us dawg owners that you share what you know. Thanks! This tidbit, though, just struck my funny bone and made me laugh. :hysterical:

Back to the thread topic, I hope all of you with pain are feeling better soon.