Sciatica ?

[dransy]

I only started my new career as a hgv driver in January . Before that I've always been in manual labour jobs doing over 15k steps a day easily .

Long story short Im 32 and about 3 week ago when getting out of the wagon I've had a shooting pain down my left leg .

It's only gotten worse . Once I'm upmand walking it's bareable but sitting down and getting up from sitting I'm in absaloute agony . Now it's in my arse cheek and down the back of my leg .

I've been taking painkillers but they don't even touch the sides . I've rang the doctors and they where not interested at all I've got a telephone appointment with a physio next Thursday 🙄

I took it upon myself and went to see a sports massage lady . She seems to think it's piriformis syndrome and told me to get a tennis ball up against a wall and roll it around on my bum cheek .

Im on holiday this week but back at work Monday . Has anyone got any quick tips to relieve the pain ?

My back seems fine it's just my arse cheek and the back of my leg
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Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[arry]

Unfortunately it's highly likely - given your work background and the fact it's started now you're sat down a lot more - that you have a slipped disc which is impinging on your nerve and that's what's giving you the pain. About the right age for it to rear its ugly head, too.

My advice would be to just outright pay for an MRI scan (not as expensive as you'd think) and take the results to a specialist (not as expensive as you'd think). There are 3 routes through after that:

1) Physio - you have to build your leg and core muscles up to get you standing up straighter and if you have any excess weight, you'll be exacerbating the problem. Whilst doing this you can be prescribed something like gabapentin which dumbs down some of the nerve pain.
2) Epidural - essentially injections in your lower back which then numb the nerve pain and make things bearable again. You'd do this in line with 1) above because ultimately you want to get better and stay better rather than just having injections sporadically throughout.
3) Spinal decompression surgery. They open you up, take a small piece of bone out of your spine to allow the nerve more space to pass through.


I ended up with surgery and unfortunately it was far from successful, I now have constant nerve pain, a numb foot and difficulty in exercising (I'll never run again for sure).

Why I'm saying go get your MRI and get it sorted as quick as you can is that - and this is important - THE MORE TIME YOU HAVE AN IMPINGED NERVE THE LESS CHANCE YOU HAVE OF IT EVER RETURNING TO NORMAL AS THE NERVES 'DIE'.

It's not very pleasant unfortunately.

In the meantime 'Cobra's' will help to settle out the pain:
https://www.yogajournal.com/videos/cobra-pose-2

And sciatic stretches / nerve flossing will help you too:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercises-for-sciatica/


All the best.

[Riejufixing]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[yen_powell]

Have you been using the same vehicle all the time since being an HGV driver or do you change all the time? I had bad pains in my thighs when I did long journeys in a particular car. It went away when I changed cars, the seat in my current car seems to support my back better somehow.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[Hetzer]

It's not as likely to be a disc as a pinched nerve caused by slack muscles not holding shit in place properly. Mine goes occasionally due to an old crash injury that nudged a part of the cocyx/pelvis interface slightly out of whack, which then wore the bone down so that it will no longer stay in the correct position. It usually takes three days of sitting on the sofa with a supporting cushion before the swelling goes down and stops pressing on the sciatic nerve.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Bhud]

I've had something like that. When I was in my 20s I used to do a lot of squats. Excessive reps on an uneven surface resulted in bad form towards the end of every session, and one evening the injury occurred which caused exactly what you describe.
I'm not saying it's the same in your case. But it used to come and go, and I would need to take painkillers periodically. It became just a part of life. What eventually got rid of it permanently was moving to a place where I had to walk uphill every day. My theory is, there was an injury, and then I adapted to it and began favouring one side more than the other, causing the injured side to never get to full strength to allow the support muscles to hold my lower back in the right place. When you climb uphill, you push down with one foot and then the other, with the same force. You can't favour one side. Therefore it all straightens out to where it's supposed to be. Just a theory.

[MCN]

Your about the right age, build and sex to get an in-grown hard-on.

But I'd go for the trapped nerve thing.

Use a lumber cushion to support your lower back.
Back injury is often a symptomatic of poor lower back muscular support. The muscles that curve the spine to allow us four footed apes to be bi-ped.
We're almost there.
If the muscle gets injured or is 'tired' it cannot pull the spine which relaxes and can promote nerve injury.
Slipped discs 'pinched' nerve. (In-grown Hard-on).
Plus on the mri. And orthopaedic dude/dudette.

Driving is bad for it. 🙄
But a lumber cushion will really help.
Get into a habit of using it if sitting. It helps the muscle rest and recover (over time).

And avoid leaning over to lift stuff unless it's a dropped tenner.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[SpeedyCBR1100]

If you should have to have spinal decompression surgery, could I suggest you don't have it done in the UK. Here you can only have open spine surgery and, in the words of the surgeon who was going to operate on me, "it's a messy, bloody opertation, you'll end up with a 12 to 13 inch scar, we have to have 8 pints of your blood type on standbye and there is a very high risk of infection."

I investigated the alternatives and ended up having an op.using micro-surgery at the Aiwa clinic in Riga.Their facilities were incredible. I flew home 2 days afterwards and have a 1 cm scar. Also the NHS refunded the cost of the operation. All I ended up having to pay for was the return flight.

[dransy]

It's the same truck I'm using every day . I really can't get comfy in the seat at all . My legs are either to close and my arms are to far away or vise versa . It's got nearly 1 million miles of someone's fat arse on the seat . The seat was knackered so I swapped the seat base over with the passanger seat .

Never had any problems before so can only assume it's to do with that . I'm not a fat bastard or anything either 6ft probably 15st ISH .

I've noticed the more I rest the worse it seems to be . Aslong as I'm up and moving it's not too bad . Feel like a right old bastard 🤣
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Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[arry]

[arry]

[Irezumi]

[A100man]

I've had something thta I believe to be sciatica on and off for about 30 years. It only occurs in my arse cheeks and only really one at a time. In the beginning it could be agony and last a week (couldn't walk to the pub 20 yards across teh rod - yes that bad!), now it is milder and lasts a couple or three days generally .. I probably only get it 2-3 times a year but I think working in crouched or cramp conditions brings it on.

I've never really had treatment but if you can lie flat on your back in bed it can help. Also hanging by your arms from the stairs or tree branch so you spine is being stretched can offer temporary relief.

Good luck - back/arse pain can be a bastard.
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[stinkwheel]

Regular, well taught tai chi/yoga/pilates will increase you core muscle tone, body awareness and range of movement as well as improving your posture and alignment.

The neuromuscular pain will then by and large take care of itself.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[BigTim]

these may help
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MZ S50B, Suzuki GP100, Honda CBF1000, Honda Blackbird (I like my Blackbird)

[kramdra]

https://youtu.be/9SKuFe2SERs

[Riejufixing]

[wr6133]

Listen to Arry, if you have fucked up disks you want to know. I ended up with multiple knackered disks in the lower back from a bike crash. The NHS kept me smashed off my tits on progressively stronger opiates for almost 2 years. Then they decided they should send me for an MRI.....just short of 2 years to get a scan. Scan confirmed a load of mashed disks causing chaos with nerves, it'll now never fix properly. Go private get a scan, if it shows damage go jam the scan down your GP's throat (though once you mention "go private", he'll go from dishing out 10 minute slots of pointlessness to being your best mate).

Also what kind of shit truck you driving that doesn't have an air seat? You know there is a shortage of HGV drivers, if your firm is giving you a rotten old shit box to fester in, go and work for a better one. Or get a sick note, I had a driver once that had actually managed to get a sick note excluding him driving MAN's

[dransy]

🤣🤣 driving about in a beat up Renault premium .

First day back today . Yesterday I seemed to be getting on alot better but back in the truck today I was in agony when sitting down so I wonder if it's the seat thats causing it ?

Ive ordered a memory foam seat thingy ma bob and I'll wait for physio on Thursday and take it from there .

Stopped with painkillers think they give me heart burn . Plus they don't work
____________________
Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[BigTim]

[wr6133]

[Robby]

I've had it for the last few weeks, gradually getting worse. I'm 6ft, 12 stone, and exercise regularly. I think the thing that did it for me was changing my kitchen (2 weeks of very long days), and just not moving enough since lockdown began. Usually at work I would walk a couple of miles a day and spend a lot of time on my feet. Now I only need to walk down the stairs occasionally.

Moving helps. Sitting is very bad, so I've makeshifted a standing desk.

Anti-inflammatories help.

Walking and some exercise helps.

Getting a referral to the right people will take time. Then getting an MRI will take even longer.

I don't know about your specific case, but driving a big truck could be dangerous. Mine is down my right leg, the one that does the throttle and brakes. I'm not driving while I have little control or strength over that leg.

[kramdra]

If you have nothing on record with docs, worth taking out a bupa policy (ask your boss to provide, benefit being minimum time off for appointments compared to NHS who seem to waste as much working time as possible, about 400 quid a year). You will get the MRI quick. They wont cover pre existing meds but its ok to have non diagnosed pain that you have tried non quackery options for.
Post MRI I have found consultants to be utter arseholes, they got paid without having to do any real work. Make sure you have a copy of the MRI on cd. I never got even a letter, report or any official results for my leg MRI's only what I was told in a 5 minute consultation (plus the images).

[Ribenapigeon]

My Dad had sciatica so severe he had to have morphine injections. I got him a Tens machine and it really helped him and he was able to stop taking his pain meds.

Off topic, I was thinking of doing HGV training, us it worth it? What level licences should I go for, full on articulated or lower weight? Roughly what cost/hassle/timescale? Cheers.