Bill

I have developed sciatica again. I had it two years ago, and it was real nasty then. It has come back. I have noticed that the source of the pain is not the piriformis, but rather much lower--at the top of my left hamstring. I really think the problem is with the hamstrings. Anybody have this kind of sciatica? And what did you do about it. I started doing some hamstring stretches tonight. Wow! What is tight! I'm seeing a massuese in two days. She has pounded it before. But I think I didn't identify the source of the pain as well as I could before. Any help out there. It hurts when I am sitting or driving. If I lift my leg away from the seat it gets a little better. Hard to drive that way though.

chunt

Yoga. Vinyasa Yoga as a regular practice. Sporadic stretching, massage, elec stimulation, heat, cold, etc. all treat the symptons. The yoga practice will address the real issues - not a one or two time visit to a studio - long term practice. My hamstrings, IT bands, feet, lower back, shoulders are all significantly better - on and off the bike. Highly recommend it.

From wikipedia:
A standard viṅyāsa consists of the flow from caturaṅga, or plank, to caturaṅga daṇḍāsana, or low plank, to ūrdhva mukha śvānāsana or upward-facing dog, to Adho Mukha Svanasana, or downward-facing dog. The purpose of viṅyāsa is to create heat in the body, which leads to purification of the body through increased circulation and sweating. It also improves flexibility, as well as tendon and hard tissue strength, allowing the student to practice advanced āsanas with reduced risk of injury.

Busta Quad

Yep - same thing, same leg. In my case (and likely yours) it is NOT in the hamstring, it is an impingement of the nerve root in the lower back. It manifests as pain/weakness in the hamstring because it's the nerve root that runs down the back of the leg but the problem is in the lower spine. Sitting/driving/lying on that side exacerbates it - that's because the nerve root is being compressed. I used to think the problem was in my leg. After I realized what the problem was I started doing lower back stretches and taking Ibuprofen and the difference has been amazing.

icyclist 

I'm with BustaQuad on this, particularly having suffered through the same condition. It's a nerve problem, and Ibuprofen can help alleviate - but not eliminate - the pain. Only time will eliminate the pain.

Whether or not I rode my bike, I had pain. So I chose to ride my bike, even though it often hurt every time I turned the cranks. Eventually, the pain went away, and it will for you again, too.

mloywhite

I had really bad left sided sciatic pain, and after trying everything, I finally figured out that I needed my cleat a little further in towards the bike, on my left shoe. It lined up my left leg a little straighter, and solved my problems. Just a thought, it worked for me.

late

Sit on a bed with one foot on the floor and the other on the bed. Lean forward and
swing side to side. It's a simple way to massage that area. May take a bit of trying to find the right spot.

I agree with what everybody is saying. Just wish I had the gumption to do yoga.

Machka 

I developed really bad sciatic pain a few years ago. I switched to a Brooks saddle, and the pain went away.

But I also made some adjustments to my office chair ... for me, I needed to raise the seat of my chair, and then tilt the seat downward so it was a bit higher close to the back, and lower where the knees would be.

I have also heard that low car seats that put a person in a somewhat slouched position aren't good.

Bill

I find this to be true, too. Actually, while I am riding and immediately afterward I feel fine. After a while, though, it comes back. It probably is back related. All of this started after I injured my lower back--swimming, of all things. But before, I felt that I got better results from my massage therapist when she worked on the leg, not the butt (piriformis).

superdex

other than massage, what have you done to find out the source of the pain? xray? MRI? Have you focused on your lower back and core strength at all? Sciatica is a symptom, not a problem....

Randochap

The piriformis isn't neccesarily the site of the pain, but it may be the cause. The piriformis often impinges on the sciatic nerve, causing exactly the symptoms you are describing.

Do piriformis stretches religiously ... and don't drive so much.

coasting 

i had sciatica which caused the whole of my left leg to go numb and occasionally hurt. It got so bad i couldn't walk more than half an hour. It turns out the cause was misalignment of lower vertebrae in the lower back (pinching the sciatic nerve as it leaves the spine) caused by twisting my spine regularly from my golf swing. I suggest you might have something similar in your back, not your hamstring.

I tried massaging to relieve the pain including pretty brutal painful massage with really eased the sciatica but it always came back becasue the casue was not addressed. i left it like this for a few years. finally it was cured by just 2 half hour treatments by an osteopath who twisted my spine back into alignment. I suggest seeing an osteopath. He told me after that despite the great pain, the misalignment was only very minor. you might be able to fix it really easily before trying any drastic treatment.

He suggested a quick exercise if the pain came back and to prevent any new misalignment getting stuck. lie on your back on the floor, bend your knees up keeping feet on the floor. then slowly let your knees fall to one side keeping them together and feet on the floor and back flat on the floor. have someone gently push the knees down if you cant rotate. do it on the other side. this gently loosens up the vertebrae and eases the pain.

good luck

gonococcus

Increase your handlebar height, un-flip the stem if you have to.

sibaudio

Apparently you can click the link at the top of your page for the answer.... Weirdddd.....

humboldt'sroads

Agreed. You probably have a bulging disc or a similar condition that is putting pressure on the nerve. Back stretches helped me, but in order to work my lower back in the way it needed to make any real progress, I had to work intensively on abs AND hamstrings too, as you've mentioned. Ab work and hamstring stretches are really lower back exercises in disguise. Do your exercises on a firm floor laying on your back.

Busta Quad

After reading up on sciatica a bit more, I think I'm more likely to have this:

"Runners, bicyclists and other athletes engaging in forward-moving activities are particularly susceptible to developing piriformis syndrome if they do not engage in lateral stretching and strengthening exercises."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piriformis_syndrome



than an impingement in the spine.

Farmer Tan

I've had bad cases of sciatica on the left side starting from about my tailbone down to my big toe. Pretty much my arse, left nut, & left knee would have intense throbbing pain and my big toe would go numb.

I visited a chiropractor the first time. That made it go away for about 2 years. Then it came back. I went to the chiro again but it didn't help it too much. I found some good stretches on youtube and it went away again.

I know one thing they bring up is to not carry your wallet in the back pocket.

One thing about the stretches, they say if you try to force it too much it could make matters worse. If you stretch it a little bit when you wake up or go to bed, eventually it loosens up more and more.

Oh yeah, check out the sacro wedgie. I ordered one of those, you can sit and lay on it, and it definitly helped.

Busta Quad

Before and after riding today I tried the stretches shown in figs 19 & 20. They were very effective in isolating and stretching the piriformis.

https://www.spine-health.com/wellness...ormis-syndrome

Busta Quad

That's the strange (and rather profound) abut nerve impingement. Nothing is actually wrong with anything below your pelvis; your brain simply maps the noise coming in on your sciatic nerve to those areas.

superdex

My doc and PT said to stay away from Chiro like the plague. I know medical opinions are still opinions, but yeah, I trust these two...

Bill

I have had two MRI's previously. The first showed some bulging discs. The second didn't seem to suggest that so much. I have been through physical therapy (twice, actually). The second PT focused on the sciatica. I have done a series of stretches. I have started doing a hamstring stretch again that I used to do. I think that is helping some. Man, are my hamstrings tight. I don't remember that stretch being so hard to do.

Bill

Part of my PT was to walk backwards. The therapist suggested that people like me who do triathlons tend to be unbalanced muscle wise. So he suggested backwards walking (now on a treadmill) as a way of strengthening the muscles that are opposite of the ones you use in riding, swimming, and running.

Lucky07

I've had it. Riding the bike wasn't the issue, everything else was. Walking, running & sitting mostly. I stretched, did some yoga and took Aleve. It eventually went away.

Scuks though. Constant pain definitely makes me a miserable person to be around.

thdave

I've been off the bike since Dec. 20th due to sciatica nerve problems.

Had an MRI and have been seeing a therapist. She cautioned me from my regular stretches--one I used to do is bend at the waist, like a prayer to allah--knees bent, arms out forward. She says stretches like these aggravate the pinched nerve and are harmful.

Keep that in mind--strech out the nerve but don't compress it!

I'm working with these elastic bands to strengthen my core muscles.

Got on the bike for the first time yesterday, but it still bothered me some. I'm going to lower my seat for the next couple of weeks and take it easy, but try to stay with it.

Good luck.

jazz567

I'm not a Dr. - but I had sciatica really bad a few years ago. From what I learned it is caused by nerve(s) being pinched, most likely at a bulged disk. So many of the things you would do to try to aleviate pain just dont get to the root of the cause (stretchng, massages, etc). The feeling of tightness in the leg muscles makes it seem like stretching should really help, but bending over to stretch can put additional pressure on the nerve right where it is already being compressed in your back.

The #1 thing that helped me the most - walking. Just plain walking without weights. The natural movements helped with strengh and balance. Once I could start riding again the combination of walking and riding made it pretty much go away.

Bill

I have not trouble riding. In fact, I feel very good when I ride. Sitting in a car is an entirely different matter.