sciatica

[Conrad]

Yeah, well it felt good this morning and now it's back worse...  I got smart (not really) and over stretched myself so I'm walking around like Tim Conway's old man on the Burnette show.

Get out and get some exercise man, maybe play some ball?

Here's a few tips from Tim.

Dorf On The Diamond (excerpt)

[timsatx]

I have the occasional flare up. It started back around '97. I was doing a lot of soldering and was sitting forward on the chair to get close to the microscope. It put pressure from the edge of the chair on exactly the wrong spot. After doing this for awhile if flared up. The pain is from under my butt to the upper part of the back of my leg. When I get it now (which thankfully is not but maybe once every two years or so) what I do is to take anti-inflammatory meds and I also use a heating pad. I just sit on it all evening long and do that for two or three days. It usually goes away after that. I do drafting now so I don't sit in the same position but it will still come up every now and then.

I remember when it first happened and I was in a lot of pain, I had to get some gas. While I was standing there I had to sneeze. When I did it popped my back (kinda like cracking knuckles) and man did that hurt. It was like someone hit me with a bat right behind my knees. I went right down. But the funny thing is that it actually relieved the pain. I felt better afterwards.

[VirginiaJim]

I'm feeling better this morning...  I've been doing the heat thing as much as I can.  Course, I was cleaning up the garage yesterday afternoon and that could have made it worse.  I'm just trying to take it easy for now.  Moving around and such.  I've always had issues with the left side lower back.  I've got to agree it's probably posture and too much sitting.  I'm going to try to walk on the treadmill at an easy pace to keep moving around.

Thanks, C.  Tim Conway is an absolute hoot.  His book 'What's so Funny?' is hilarious, especially the antics with Carol Burnette and Harvey Korman.  He lived to make Harvey break up during skits and played pranks on him in real life.

[jettawreck]

Yep, Conway and Korman were really amazing and a lot totally unscripted on the set.
Heat makes it feel better but also actually makes muscle swell which can push against the inflamed nerve(s) making it more painful later. While not as good feeling, ice then heat and some more ice can keep the inflammation from recurring.
Mild exercise and walking, not much lifting and sitting.