I was having severe back issues years ago where if I stood up straight, I would get debilitating back spasms which would make me almost fall to the ground. Doctors didn’t have any diagnosis other than to strengthen my core.
I decided to cut all carbs out of my diet and dropped 30 lbs (210 to 180) and my back has been a million times better. I’ve reintroduced carbs but kept the weight down.
Awesome! Carbs also promote inflammation so cutting them out initially may have been beneficial (in addition to the weight loss).
Seed oils (omega 6) can also promote inflammation so avoiding them also might help some people.
I’m 6’ 1.5" tall and weigh in at a stout 175lbs of sarcasm and cynicism.
Tomorrow morning is my day for an injection into the piriformis muscle. That’s now the latest suspect in my glute to ankle pain issue. If this fails I’m in trouble…
I was out of town and ended up in a rental Pacifica Minivan. Other than CarPlay dropping in and out over every bump we hit, it wasn’t bad. My leg didn’t ache even after a 2.5 hour drive so maybe the more upright seating position is a thing for me?!
Third shot was put in the piriformis muscle 6 days ago. Helped, but not 100%. Way better than the spinal injections.
Odd thing happened yesterday though; I twisted my ankle playing pickleball and fell right on the point of most pain. I actually think this helped (hurt like hell when I landed though). Maybe it caused the tight muscle to release?
Weird, but I feel even better than before the fall. My wife is offering to use a baseball bat on me as “treatment” if I keep looking at cars to buy in case I can’t resolve my back issue. My automotive ADHD bothers her. A lot.
Your experience is very similar to mine. For 3 years I kept thinking it was getting better.
It’s crazy because you can kind of deal with it on a day to day basis because standing up and walking around doesn’t hurt, but certain tasks like sitting at s restaurant get to be extremely uncomfortable.
One of the things that prevented me from getting surgery was I thought that I might be more prone to injury in the future if they removed a piece of the disc. I thought that when it healed through natural processes, I would have more disc material than if I had surgery. It’s just not the case.
What ended up happening is that I dealt with the pain for so long that it really really irritated the nerve. I took my nerve sooo long to heal.
I am tall and thin as well. As for managing the pain for now. Inversion table, and hamstring stretches are the most effective. For the hamstring stretch, don’t try to touch your toes with both hands like they teach you in gym class. What you want to do is one leg at a time. Standup, keep both legs straight, lean forward while bringing one leg back. You basically are trying to form a T shape. Put a chair or stool in front of you to hold as you don’t want your back holding your body weight. This the only way I know of to stretch the hamstrings while keeping your spine straight.
I think many (most?) physical therapists recommend lying your back and doing single leg raises w/ a strap.
Leaning forward can put a lot of strain on the lower back if someone doesn’t have good form.
It was taught to me by a physical therapist. I’ve done the laying down strap thing as well. This was far more effective for me.
The leaning forward is fine as long as your support your upper body weight with a pole or a chair or something.
I assume that much of the benefit was b/c of all of the other muscles engaged (quads, glutes, lower back) when one gets into that position.
I do that position (an arabesque) fairly regularly. I guess it does stretch the hamstrings, but it is not a position that I would use primarily for a hamstring stretch. But every body is, of course, different.
There are no muscles engaged. Well obviously there are always some, but barely.
It stretches the hamstrings incredibly well and it specific targets them and them only.
It feels no different on my hamstring than the traditional trying to touch your toes. it’s just a lot easier on your back.
It might be different for us because I couldn’t do the strap thing.
That is the first test almost all Dr’s do to test to see how bad your herniated disc is. They will lay you down and gradually lift one of your legs up. At my worst, when I was laying down, if my leg went up 8-10inches it was unbearable. But during this time, I could still stretch my hamstrings by the T shaped standing stretch.
Slipped disk in L4/L5 around thanksgiving 2020. Damaged nerve running into left leg. Never had any back problems before and exercised regularly. Surgery in early 2021 hoping to help both. Today a bit better but still having issues with some days better/worse than others. Trying different things. No shots or similar (yet)
Still trying to do stretches I learned from PT, strengthen core, improve diet/lose some weight and keep active. Elevation does seem to help. And shopping for new car for the first time in a decade+ so seat will be an improvement.
Will try to read more of this thread and try some of the suggestions and products. Good luck.
ended up buying one to try again. i don’t know if the quality has gone downhill but its unable to keep up the support under prolonged sitting periods.
how do you like the mat you bought? was looking at one of those and it gets very good reviews, but i’m not sure if that’ll be the same thing as the seat cushion.
I don’t know about sciatica, but X5 with drive assist and massage seats is a game changer for me. I just did about 6.5 hours (LA to Scottsdale) without a break.
Good to know but my bladder won’t last 6.5 hours. LOL
Do the massage seats make that much of a difference? I haven’t had them in the past and wondering if I need to spec them on future purchases.
For me drive assist is a must, massage seats are nice to have but not necessarily a deal breaker.
I like it. I use it when standing at my desk. I have a similar but older anti-fatigue mat in my kitchen I use several times a day, that probably came from Costco or BBB.
Highly recommend Hypervolt for hamstrings. Both my brother and I have chronicly tight hamstrings, no amount of stretching helps, this thing, 5 minutes and boom, all good. https://hyperice.com/hypervolt/. Especially good before and after car rides, gardening and prolonged standing.
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