My mom has Sciatica and she’s getting surgery on wednesday. But right now, her legs hurts horribly, and she can’t sleep. She’s taking the medication, and it’s been working, but once in a while her leg starts to hurt. Do you know what I can do to at least make the pain not hurt so much?
#1 by Traveler on August 20th, 2011
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I developed a bulging disc between lumbar 4 and 5 by running too much on the
jogging trail and developed sciatica down my left leg.
I’ll tell you what I did. Your mother will have to decide what is applicable in her case.
1) My chiropractor recommended taking daily doses of 100 mg. of Vitamin B6.
It strengthens nerve insulation. I noticed an improvement in 4 to 6 weeks.
2) Aleve is a good NSAID medication that is sold over the counter.
The doctor can prescribe a stronger form of the drug in the name Naproxen.
The doctor can also prescribe Tramadol which is a narcotic and good pain reliever.
Back ice packs are a good idea also.Usually they can be placed around the waist
area for the best relief.
(They connect with velcro) You can buy them at most pharmacies
— example at the site below:
http://www.shapeupshop.com/fitness/recovery/ice_heat_wrap.htm
3) The lunge exercise is good for sciatic conditions.
An example is at the bottom of this site. You should only do exercise with care since it may make the situation worse depending on the nature of the sciatica.
http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/Strength.html
4) I bought the Teeter inversion table. You can invert yourself partially
or completely for spine decompression. It feels great.
It costs a few hundred but I like it. This is the best bang for the
buck as far as I’m concerned because it does a good job of taking the pressure off of the lumbar disks.
http://www.teeter-inversion.com
5) I purchased the Rebuilder 2407 Electronic Stimulator (information at the site below).
This product was intended for a variety of ailments including nerve damage due to
diabetes but I found it helpful when the electrical attachments are placed slightly
to the right and left of the spine where the bulging disk occurs. In my case,
just slightly lower than waist level to the right and left of the spine.
I paid $699 for this (although they’ve reduced the price since), so it’s something to consider even though it’s a little expensive. I bought the more expensive model since it had the AC adapter associated with it rather than just the battery (and so it supplies more power). It definitely
makes you feel good when you use it at 7.83 Hz.
http://www.rebuildermedical.com/