I So I will tell the osteopath on my appointment that the MRI was important, unlike he suggested, and lucky I did do it as I was not going to recover on my own and could have had permanent damage if I had not have had the MRI as soon as I did. It's gonna be an awkward appointment I think when i tell him..
My advice to all of you guys who do have sciatic pain in your legs is to get it checked out properly via an MRI scan as it may be something more serious.
About 10yrs ago I had a bout of sciatica..which turned out to be the worst the GP (about to retire) had seen....
I had experience shooting stabbing pains in end of left big toe & discomfort in lower back...saw osteopath who said is was my "gait" as I have hyper flexing ankles..so sent me to see podiatrist who recommended special footbeds...so more money.... 4 months on over winter..still no progress....then I was doing something stupid...under kitchen cupboard under sink install/plumbing...on back over the cupboard edge....the next day was painful...the day after I was at my business I I could feel my back tensing up & getting more painful by the hour....so got home with a walking stick 15mins stagger
Now I was on the max over the counter painkillers...so get home hot waterbottle...couldn't get upstairs so had dinner & fell asleep on couch...morning I was crying as the pain was unbearable....cramp seizers in the gluts. The biggest body muscle...your arse basically....thing its painful in the arch of your foot try that instead....then every few minutes it felt as if some one a pealed the skin back at the top of the leg & was pouring liquid fire, followed by liquid ice down the leg under the skin...
Got the is aforementioned GP out...she did an exam & got me to sign a document for heavy duty synthetic morphine injection..which I did..that took the edge off for 2hrs ..enough time to get the heavy duty prescription pain killers....
Anyway I eventually got a consultants appointment about 8 weeks later...NHS is very fast..lol...by that time i had decided to forget the ostio & the stupid podiatrist....I was starting to see a "mctimony" chiropractor....this is the most gentle form ..no crunching you...& this was working in fact the poor bloke was himself very scared due to my state, but we did a little every week, then every two weeks..I was then also taking Syndol which then contained a muscle relaxant...it doe not any more as addictive & I was on the max does to come of the higher strength prescription stuff as I was off my face...so this stuff allowed the muscles to unlock & relaxed....I also started seeing a physio...who just does muscle massage..no crunching...just massage the knots etc out of muscles...
So the McT chiro to align the bones & the physio to massages the muscles...& the drugs to unlock the muscles & ease the pain...
This worked...when I had my first meting with the consultant he was wondering why I was not in as bad a shape as the GP saw me...well 8 weeks & the about costly out my own pockets....so he booked me for an MRI etc....
By the time I had the MRI & the second meeting with him...it was September early..& the initial GP was Feb.....so 6-7moths latter.....by which time I was almost normal for me which is fitter than most people...& he wondered why so I told him...
Anyway my back has 4 in the "L" which are FUBAR..two are very dried out & they offered to remove the discs & pin..but I said NO as 40% failure & knew someone who had just had it done...more problems with sciatica due to scar tissue as they cut over the spine (now they like to go through the stomach)...consultant agreed with me & also said the podiatrist was right..I do have hyper flexing ankles..but he ewas wrong is giving me footbeds...that just make maters worse...your body adapts..have you ever had problems like this before?..NO...its natural wear & tear on the discs & most people get it eventually.....so that was that..
Basically if you get pains in the big toe its serious....the discs bulge out/sideways & press the outer sheath of the sciatic nerve into the nerve core..this shorts the nerves...the sciatic nerve goes from the L4 lower back...down the rear across the hip, through the groin, down the inside of the thigh...& ends in the big toe....
Best course of action is gentle Pilates..stretching/yoga...get the muscles unlocked & the bones put back into place....10yrs on I'm still fine still winter mountaineering, telemark ski-ing etc....swimming ...doing car mechanics..
Yes I still feel it giving me jyp...put I know what to do..I also know that decent backpacks with big hip belt lock out the spine & dump the load onto the hips..bypassing the spine...& know that my lower back muscles are very strong which is why i had the problems...they took loads of over loading...then when they failed it dumped everything on the spine...which ran away...
anyway I'm rambling now...