RunningAHEAD - Topic: Please Help!! Feeling pain

mindovermuscle

posted: 1/31/2007 at 3:28 PM

I'm in pain with what I think is sciatica - had it for 2 weeks and have run through it until tonight when I couldn't run, my whole leg felt like it was going to come off. I have read a bit about this and the muscle in the buttock that starts with a 'p. ' Please offer any advice if you have had this before. I was just buidling up to ok mileage after starting running in September so it feels really disappointing because I'm down to running 3/4 times a week. Now I'm worried that it's getting worse. Walking with a limp at the moment.... my only other injury so far was shin splints but I was careful and managed to get rid of it.

Mile Collector

Abs of Flabs

posted: 1/31/2007 at 3:45 PM

Piriformis. Maybe I should start a pain in the butt group or something. I am currently receiving treatment from my physical therapy at the moment. From what I understand, sciatica is a general term for any pain in that area. The most common diagnosis is an inflamed piriformis. The sciatic nerve is a huge bundle of nerve (think the thickness of a pencil) that exits near your tail bone, goes along the piriformis muscle, and traverse down your leg. If for some reason, one of your muscles is inflamed, it pushes against the nerve and you'll get all kinds of pain and weakness in the leg. The sad news is there is no other way of fixing the problem other than rest. I haven't ran in over 3 weeks and the problem still persists to some extent. Running will aggravate it more because you're putting a lot of weight on the nerve. I resorted to doing some cross training right now. Here's what my physical therapist did for me so far. I received several treatments with ultrasound. It's not fun. After that, it's deep muscle massage. That's not as fun as it sounds either. During all this time, I've been stretching the hamstring and the piriformis. Now I'm onto the stationary bike to strengthen the hamstring. Frankly, I don't have high hopes that they'll fix my problem, but I feel that it's better than stewing at home that I can't run. Anyway, this probably didn't help, but I feel your pain.

Beantown Runners | On the Bench

mindovermuscle

posted: 2/1/2007 at 4:39 PM

Thanks for your reply Mike. I was hoping you'd tell me there was some magic pill! I have decided I need to see a physio to help me with it. Post something on here once you've made a recovery, would like to hear that you're back running

ttmalek

posted: 2/2/2007 at 9:01 PM

Have you considered hanging upside down?

Please Help!! Feeling pain (Read 590 times)