Sciatica and Piriformis

General Discussion
#1

@Fit_For_Golf

Mike, I was hoping you could help me out.

I have had some pretty intense sciatica and piriformis issues since mid September. I drove 3.5 hours, played 36 holes in 24 hours and drove 3.5 hours back. Day 2 I felt some pain but kept on playing.

Typically when this happens, foam rolling, stretching and the Defranco Limber 11 will clear things up. I’ve only played 9 holes since mid September and a little concerned this could be a disc issue as the pain is still there and I am frequently having trouble sleeping.

Here’s my question. Any advice on what professional to go see first? I’ve had some really disappointing doctors visits in the past where they basically tell me to stretch or offer me a $200 steroid injection. Physical therapist? Deep tissue?

I am not asking for medical advice, I guess I am asking how to find an educated doctor / specialist who can really help me get this fixed.

Thanks

PS I am 30 years old, probably in B- shape but with a C- for flexibility

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#2

Take care if your back! I’ll be down for three months because of mine.

The steroid injection really helped me, though.

I’m going to spend time building core strength and flexibility before I start swinging again.

#3

I sit all day at work, take long car rides frequently to see customers in other cities and chase babies around my house.

Little bit of a wake up call that I am no longer a spring chicken!

2 Likes
#4

Mike has some great stuff… cat and camel, pelvic thrusts, dead bug… check out his site!

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#5

Can I ask you what your symptoms are? My lower back on the right side (I play left-handed) has been sore for two years. It doesn’t seem to get better or worse so I haven’t even explored what is going on.

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#6

You might want to address that!

#7

If I had an idea what it is so I would know who to see, I would.

#8

@papageorgio I was medically retired from the Army because of this exact problem. I didn’t want them to operate when I was in my 30’s. Finally I decided I had to get it done because I could hardly get out of bed. Wasn’t on any pain meds and had as much cortisone as the could inject plus radio frequency ablation (they literally burn the nerve) all of it delayed the inevitable. Well two weeks before my 40th I got an L4-L5 discectomy. Was a candidate for fusionL4-S2 but the doctor felt I was in good enough shape he just wanted to address the major herniation. Long story short, when he opened me up, he said my sciatic was crushed and wasn’t sure it would ever get back to normal, could take 18 months. Well almost 18 months to the day it started feeling like normal again. That’s when I took up golf, that was a little over four years ago now, and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I still have issues with my back and sciatic but my fitness coach has worked really hard to stabilize my core and all of the little muscles to keep my back strong. Anyway, if you need surgery, my recommendation is find someone you get a good feeling from. I saw about four doctors before I chose mine, and haven’t looked back since. With modern advancements in this procedure you’re in pretty safe hands with most doctors. I’ll tell you like they kept telling me, have surgery when it affects your quality of life so much that you want surgery. That’s what I did. Good luck and if you need to talk to anyone about it, I’m here for ya bud!

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#9

I have pretty wicked sciatica down my right side. Some days it’s fine, others it flairs up like crazy. I go to my chiropractor and he does dry needling. I combine that with a very strict stretching regimen and it really really helps. I wish I could say eventually it goes away, but I’m on year 2 of this and I’m not sure it will ever go away. It’s all about minimizing the impact and pain for me.

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#10

My cousin actually has disc issues from hot landing an Apache for the army. Really tough job to do with back problems.

Did you start with back specialist and physical therapist? Assuming a back doctor and a good trainer is probably where to start.

#11

Good on your cousin! Tell him the Black Hawks are better😉 That’s what I did a good majority of my 14 1/2 years. Before I started flying I was actually an armament dawg on Apaches.

Depending on your insurance, you’ll probably have to see your primary care doctor first, but ultimately, you want and orthopedic doctor. They will get you on the course of treatment that is best for your specific injury. If you go to an orthopedic doctor and the first thing out of their mouth is that you need surgery, you need to go to someone else. The scope of practice should be physical therapy and pain management. If both of those are not helping then the final course is surgery. They should always start with the most non invasive stuff.

#12

I’ll let him know!

Sounds like you’ve had a long road with the back pain. Glad you are feeling healthy after all that.

I think this is fixable, I just need to make some changes in my fitness and may need a steroid shot to start some recovery. Going to try and find a good specialist and find out.

Need to do something though cause 4 Advil before bed is not doing the trick

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#13

Thank you, it was quite the road, but I feel better than I have for a long time. Dealt with the excruciating pains of it for about 10 years.

Try turmeric. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory, I found it to work better than Advil and you can still take the Advil. Best of luck with your back. Feel free to reach out if you need any advice.

#14

Went to the orthopedist and took an X-ray. Vertebrae look good. Some physical therapy and Aleve are the plan

If I’m still hurting in 2-3 weeks it’s going to be MRI to look at the discs

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#15

I got stretched at a chiropractor It worked for me