Sciatica

[Monty]

Starting about two weeks ago the sciatic nerve in my left hip started acting up and I haven't been able to ride hardly at all. So far, I've had two cordisone shots, taking a prescription for Prednisone and eating pain pills like they're going out of style.

Guess I'll try a Chiropractor next but they always seem to try and tie you up for umpteen visits which aren't covered by your insurance.

I have an Airhawk seat and have filled it as full of air as possible and that helps a bit. Just wondering if anyone who has experienced this has any suggestions for a little more comfortable ride.

 

[Ignacio]

I have an Airhawk seat and have filled it as full of air as possible and that helps a bit. Just wondering if anyone who has experienced this has any suggestions for a little more comfortable ride.

See my signature where I've attempted to quantify Airhawk compared and in addition to other custom saddles. Haven't had sciatica, but would think it would still relate.

 

[TomInPA]

What are you sleeping on at night? The root cause is not likely the bike unless you are really putting on a lot of miles. I'd be sure your bed and office chair and any other factors are helping as much as possible. You're getting some tasty meds, but maybe you should be getting a referral to an orthopedic , and perhaps physical therapists rather than a chiropractor.

Edit: I agree with Iggy, the Airhawk is not something that helps your back. If anything a full air bladder is destabilizing. Softness is not ergonomic.

 

[Hudson]

Monty, the cortisone is a short term approach. You need to address the core issue, compression of your discs, and not just the pain. A chiropractor that has a spinal decompression table is your best bet. You lie face down on these tables and they drop down at the hip level, allowing the doc to stretch the lower spinal column which enables the spinal fluid to come back into and hydrate your discs. Too few chiropractors have or know about this type of treatment, and no general practitioners understand this to any useful degree.

If you have coverage, see if they will cover purchase of a device like the Back Revolution.

They cost about $400 online, cheaper than 10 visits to the chiropractor. Unlike a typical inversion table, they allow for stretching of the spinal column and remove pressure on the discs (which causes sciatica) without hurting ankles and knees since they suspend you at the waist, not by your feet.. Plus they take up very little room. My coverage didn't apply, but I bought one anyway because it worked perfectly and allowed me to get relief when I wanted, not when the doc was free.

I use mine for about 3 min a day, and it has eliminated my sciatica. I did a few visits to my chiropractor that has the table I mentioned, but after I borrowed his Back Revolution and bought one for myself, I've rarely been back. No surgery, no cortisone shots, it just works. You can also try yoga, which through stretching exercises helps to relax the muscles that knot up and cause pressure on the discs. Massage works well here too.

If you sit most of the time at work, you also need to stand up and stretch. My work provided a standing deck that I can elevate during times of the day, and take the pressure off my lower back.

 

[kieefjr]

I am just now getting over a ruptured disc, well almost. My right foot is numb but besides that I'm up and walking without pain, unlike a week ago. I see the Doc again this coming Wed.

I have a history of back "issues" and avoided surgery each time by getting ESI, epidural steroid injections and I had one last Wed..

My pain started like yours in Nov. thinking it's a common flare up of mine I tried to work though it but it got worse and then I picked up a bucket of water improperly and that apparently pushed the disc out further. I was more or less a cripple last Sunday.

The Back Revolution type equipment makes sense but it didn't work for me 15 yrs ago when I first had a rupture, neither did the Chiropractor BUT, it may work for you.

Good luck, spinal-nerve pain is the worst imaginable.

 

[SacramentoMike]

". . . I haven't been able to ride hardly at all. "

Sorry to hear it, Monty, and hope you get relief from something. I've got nothing to offer but sympathy, but it made me think about that dreaded day when I'll decide my time riding motorcycles is over.

I got a letter from a quite a bit older cousin last week and he listed the 12 or 15 bikes he's owned over the years--including two Honda Pacific Coasts! But at the end, he described the bike he sold last year as "the last m/c I will own." Made me feel bad for him, in a way. I thought about the line from T. S. Eliot--"this is the way the world ends--not with a bang but with a whimper." Frankly, neither way sounds very good, when it comes to ending our riding days.

Good luck with this.

 

[rushes]

I messed mine up getting all carried away with jogging. Very painful and tough to heal. Have your MD refer you to a good physical therapist. I do several stretch exercises every morning and have been doing much better. I also get chiropractic adjustments monthly, but the stretching has helped the most. Good luck!

 

[Chuck35]

Not trying to overstate the obvious, but if you sit a lot it may be best not to have a wallet in a back pocket...

 

[littlefish]

Have your MD refer you to a good physical therapist. I do several stretch exercises every morning and have been doing much better.

This.

Same approach with some core strengthening helped my Dad...

 

[Fontanaman]

I have an Airhawk seat and have filled it as full of air as possible and that helps a bit. Just wondering if anyone who has experienced this has any suggestions for a little more comfortable ride.

See my signature where I've attempted to quantify Airhawk compared and in addition to other custom saddles. Haven't had sciatica, but would think it would still relate.

I have had a Russell saddle on my last 4 bikes. They are great. With the wings you won't be hanging off the FJR in the turns and this may bother some but not me. Comfort for miles and miles.

Nice report saddle write up on your signature Iggy.

 

[not2shabby]

Not trying to overstate the obvious, but if you sit a lot it may be best not to have a wallet in a back pocket...

This! I've noticed on long car trips or just sitting around for a long time the wallet causes discomfort after a while.

 

[Fly Bye]

Not trying to overstate the obvious, but if you sit a lot it may be best not to have a wallet in a back pocket...

This! I've noticed on long car trips or just sitting around for a long time the wallet causes discomfort after a while.

Going back about 20 years, my chiropractor advised me (with great vigor) to not put my wallet in my back pocket. It made sense and I have been carrying it in my front pocket ever since.

Back pain in no laughing matter, anything that helps is a blessing.

 

[Burnspot]

I have an Airhawk seat and have filled it as full of air as possible and that helps a bit. Just wondering if anyone who has experienced this has any suggestions for a little more comfortable ride.

See my signature where I've attempted to quantify Airhawk compared and in addition to other custom saddles. Haven't had sciatica, but would think it would still relate.

I wouldn't ride an Airhawk pumped full of air...way too unsettling on the bike IMHO; it's best work is done when it's nearly deflated.

Good luck with a solution...back problems suck. BTDT.

Iggy, clicking the "About Me" tab in your profile, as instructed by your signature line, reveals the following error (Profile overview shows your seat comparo nicely though):

"Error: Could not load template 'tabAboutMe' from group 'profile'"

 

[Chuck35]

I have an Airhawk seat and have filled it as full of air as possible and that helps a bit. Just wondering if anyone who has experienced this has any suggestions for a little more comfortable ride.

See my signature where I've attempted to quantify Airhawk compared and in addition to other custom saddles. Haven't had sciatica, but would think it would still relate.

I have had a Russell saddle on my last 4 bikes. They are great. With the wings you won't be hanging off the FJR in the turns and this may bother some but not me. Comfort for miles and miles.

Nice report saddle write up on your signature Iggy.

I hang off more with my Russell than I ever did with Yamaha seats. A rubber pad on the sides of the tank for grip helps

YMMV

 

[C&C]

Another proponent of 'not' storing your wallet in a rear pocket. Also, most sciatica will respond to 'time' (correcting itself) but obviously some cases require medication, manipulation (or even surgery but that should be a last resort). Glucosamine-chondroitin has also been used (to some success) as well. Age, weight, kind of activity, stress, etc. can effect your physical well being; sometimes you just have to try different solutions to find the one that works for you.

 

[SwollenRaccoon]

Everybody previous has given you good, accurate advice. Try the inversion, it may help. I have a history with a couple bulging discs, probably due to abuse and sports in my youth. Riding the FJR or my SuperHawk actually helps, but I have to remember not to slouch on the FJR.

The biggest thing that keeps it from getting crippling is that I do a short yoga routine EVERY DAY. I hate it, it's no fun, but I think it keeps my back loose enough to keep from going into muscle spasms. As you have probably found out, lower back muscle spasms have to be lived through to be believed. The pain down the leg and into the feet (second toe, usually, for me) are also not fun.

Most chiropractors scare me a little, but the advice about a good physical therapist is spot on. (I had shoulder surgery last May, and the surgeon's nurse called them physical terrorists, because they just want to hurt you). See a good therapist, and do what they tell you on a religious, fanatical basis.....if they tell you to do the exercises 8 time a day, do it.

Good luck, man. You have all my sympathy. Been there, painfully done that.