My Injury is with my sciatic nerve?

It has been a few weeks with very little improvement to my injury. I hip has a sharp pain occasionally - especially when I sit for too long. My thighs and groin areas constantly have a strange inner pain.

I am looking back at my log and things are making sense. 1: My 9 mile run resulted in me burning out my hamstring. 2: After that I had some bach spasms. 3: My hip and legs started hurting.

I think a visit to the doctor is in order since rest isn't helping.



Some content I pulled from coolrunning.com:

Sciatica

Description:
The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body, stretching from the end of your spine all the way down to your feet. When it gets pinched, it can cause pain anywhere along its length. You might feel pain in your lower back on one side, in the lower buttock, or down one leg, possibly all the way down to the foot. It is common for sciatica to be confused with a hamstring pull, and it is important to determine which you have, since stretching the hamstring muscle can further aggravate sciatica. Try this test: lie on your back with the painful leg up, knee straight. Have a friend flex your foot, bending it down toward your knee. If you have sciatica, this will be very painful, marked by a burning sensation or a feeling of electric shock down your leg or in your upper back.

Likely causes:
Your sciatic nerve is pinched. It could be caused by a pelvic tilt or by pressure on a disc, a cushion that separates your vertebrae. For a variety of reasons (a muscle spasm for instance, or more seriously, a degenerated disc), one disc may stick out so that it's not centered between the vertebrae.

Remedy:
You can't do much for this on your own, though it will help to keep good posture and avoid slumping (strengthening your abdominal muscles with bent-knee situps can help with this). Stop running and see a doctor. While whatever is causing the sciatica may be relatively harmless (tense or spasming muscles), it could also be a degenerated disc, which requires serious medical attention.

In the meantime, take anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, for example) and try hot baths or the steam room. Sciatica is something that can hang around for months or may just flare up and disappear. It's not uncommon for it to come back, but it could also be years before it does so.


Hip and/or Buttock Pain
(Piriformis Syndrome)

Description:
Pain in your upper leg, buttocks, hips or lower back -- all radiating from the piriform muscle, deep in the buttock. The back section of the buttock on the outside may be sensitive to the touch.

Likely causes:
The piriform is the muscle that helps your hip to rotate. Tightness in the back or hamstring can make the piriform's work difficult and cause inflammation. This swelling in turn often causes pressure and inflammation on the sciatic nerve as well (see sciatica, above). Prolonged sitting can aggravate the injury, as can a tight lower back.

Remedy:
Icing and anti-inflammatories will help with the pain and swelling. Vigorous massage of the knot in the muscle will help it to relax and ease the pain. Meanwhile, work on strengthening and stretching your hip, hamstring and lower-back muscles. For stretching, focus on the hamstring stretch, the hip & lower-back stretch, and the hamstring & back stretch. For strengthening, try side leg lifts.

posted by jim @ 2:42 PM Permanent Link |