Sciatica

[positronbomb]

In the past two weeks I've developed sciatica.
It's pissing me off actually, I've tried ingnoring the pain and hoping it will go away but no luck yet.
In the past when I've had issues with herniated discs, it would usually resolve itself after 2 weeks.
Now it's really affecting my aggression under the bar on squats, deadlift, and power cleans.

I will probably stick with the program another week without making any changes.
If at the end of that week there is no improvement, I can either:
1) Deload on all exercises that are affected until the pain resolves itself
2) Completely stop lifting till the pain goes away.

I'm doing some stretching exercises prescribed by athlean x.

Has anyone suffered from this before or coached anyone with this issue?

Surgery is not an option but would consider seeing a physiotherapist.

[Will Morris]

1) Yes, you could do that. You could also be one of the handful of people with back pain that never really get rid of it. In that case, this course of action self-selects you out of potentially ever training again.

2) This is not the preferred technique for most injuries. This has been covered many, many times before. There are videos, forum posts, and articles that deal extensively with this topic.

[positronbomb]

There are videos, forum posts, and articles that deal extensively with this topic.

Are you referring to sciatica?
Herniated discs are nothing like recovering from torn muscles.
Torn muscles certainly heal, having a herniated disc is like rolling a dice.

I tried exercising through it and further aggrivated the issue.
I might be able to do leg presses as that doesn't put load on the spine.
I just hope this resolves itself.

[Will Morris]

Are you referring to sciatica?
Herniated discs are nothing like recovering from torn muscles.
Torn muscles certainly heal, having a herniated disc is like rolling a dice.

I tried exercising through it and further aggrivated the issue.
I might be able to do leg presses as that doesn't put load on the spine.
I just hope this resolves itself.

I am referring to back pain with and without radicular / sciatic referral pattern.

Perhaps you could educate me on the healing mechanism for herniated discs and muscle strains, because I certainly do not have any knowledge or experience in this field. I'm particularly curious as to what about a herniated disc is "like rolling a dice". I am unfamiliar with the pathoanatomical sequelae for herniated discs.

Hope is not a course of action. Hoping for spontaneous recovery is much like hoping to increase fitness, grow big muscles, get stronger, etc. Hope refers to a passive mechanism, and though I know little of musculoskeletal medicine, I would assume healing tissues require stress since that is the body's primary stimulus for adaptation.

[positronbomb]

The disc is slipped out of allignment with the spine.
It is my feeling the issue is aggravated by the increased muscle mass not allowing the disc to recentre itself.
I'm thinking it might be better to stop all exercise, for this issues to resolve itself, rather than exercise through it.
I have had issues before with discs and the way they heal is erratic, you can be in immense pain for a day then the next day it can be completely gone, or the pain can last for days with no end in site.
I tried exercising through it, now I can't even unrack the bar.

The philosophy of hope and what that means is not a conversation that interests me, I just want to get back to lifting weights.

[Will Morris]

The disc is slipped out of allignment with the spine. This is not true in any sense of the word. There is no such thing as a "slipped disc" that does not result in complete paralysis. The term "slipped disc" is nonsensical. The interveterbral disc is attached to the vertebral endplates on both the superior and inferior vertebrae. There is no capacity for the disc to change it's position. The actual terminology would be herniated nucleus pulposus. In this case, the semifluid nucleus herniates out of the normal contained area by a rupture in the annular fibers. There is a range of ways this can become symptomatic, but the vast majority of disc herniations are completely asymptomatic.
It is my feeling the issue is aggravated by the increased muscle mass not allowing the disc to recentre itself. This is complete nonsense. The paraspinal musculature is not in a position to effect the positioning of the disc in any way, shape, or form. The paraspinals going through hypertrophy does not change the fact that the intervertebral disc is attached to the vertebral end plates.
I'm thinking it might be better to stop all exercise, for this issues to resolve itself, rather than exercise through it. If we are going to assume you have a symptomatic herniated disc, what are the exercises, treatment, etc given by physical therapists for a symptomatic annular tear or herniated disc? What are the points of performance that we are looking for?
I have had issues before with discs and the way they heal is erratic, you can be in immense pain for a day then the next day it can be completely gone, or the pain can last for days with no end in site. So, since you are educating me, please posit a hypothesis as to why this may be the case. I'd certainly like to see what your thoughts are on the recurrent meningeal nerve / sinuvertebral nerve and it's culpability in discogenic pain.
I tried exercising through it, now I can't even unrack the bar. In that case, I think you have self-selected yourself out of training through this issue. In this case, perhaps hope is your only course of action. I wish you only the best for a spontaneous, complete recovery.

The philosophy of hope and what that means is not a conversation that interests me, I just want to get back to lifting weights.

Text in bold.

[positronbomb]

Yes I know the word slipped is not correct but it describes what is happening in lamens terms, that is to say the pain is not caused by the disc itself but due to the disc touching the nerve.

I was hoping that someone might be able to share their personal experience with recovering from sciatica, and whether it was something that took months or weeks. I'm into my 3rd week now.

I've tried the exercises recommended by a physiotherapist, and I've tried exercising through it, and it seems to be getting worse not better.

[Will Morris]

Yes I know the word slipped is not correct but it describes what is happening in lamens terms, that is to say the pain is not caused by the disc itself but due to the disc touching the nerve. Again, not anywhere close to what is going on in the vast majority of sciatic nerve pain. It is a small handful of people who have sciatica (garbage diagnosis) that is the result of a herniated disc. That is not to say it is that way in your case, however, you have not provided any information that would signify that you have a definitive diagnostic imaging study that demonstrates this pathoanatomical origin.

I was hoping that someone might be able to share their personal experience with recovering from sciatica, and whether it was something that took months or weeks. I'm into my 3rd week now. Back Rehab: A Case Study | Mac Ward This is an easily accessible article on the website that deals with this particular issue. My initial analysis is this, however; you will breeze through this article and you will suggest that your pathology is different and this article has no generalizability to your condition. This is extremely common in individuals with back pain.

I've tried the exercises recommended by a physiotherapist, and I've tried exercising through it, and it seems to be getting worse not better. The biopsychosocial model of pain suggests that pain is a powerful life-altering condition. We have covered back pathology and back pain so many times on this board, but it seems that you have made up your mind that you cannot train, therefore you are not going to train, and you are only here to find a sympathetic support group for your condition.

Given your reports about your symptoms, I think you have no other choice than to seek competent medical advice.