back pain / ciatica?

Question

Years ago i suffered a spinal injury in an accident in which i herniated L4/5 and L5/6 with a torn disk at L4/5 also.

recently my ciatic nerve has been giving me hell ive been using heat bags and rest to deal with it and some drugs (legal of course) but nothing seems to help any ideas on what to do OTHER THAN EXCERCISE

ive also tried hyrdotherapy, phisio therapy and excercise (hence the excercise comment)

yeah all my therapists have my history, and my docs letter (release) i am just in a lot of pain and cant keep taking my pain killers ive tried less powerful ones but they did nothing.

i gave up my job the other week i was a dealer at a casino and because of the other spinal injuries could not travel the distance anymore.

I have been working around the house and my back has been getting worse since i moved some stuff around the back yard?

is it possible the injury has spread?

injury was 2002 the torn disk had healed, but recently while baby sitting my friends son fell over and i picked him up and re-injured it, (felt like cracking knuckles in my spine same as it did the first injury)

treatment was phisio, hyrdo (exercises) exercise, tens machine, massage, heat packs, traction, most treatments were just after the injury, i cant afford the treatments as the insurance company refuses to pay atm

Answer 1

Try ice instead of heat. You have inflamation in the area and heat makes more.
Ice will soothe the nerve and reduce the inflamed nerve.
Try a massage. We can deaden that nerve(temporarily) and give you some relief.
Give the therapist your complete history, where you have injusry from the accident, and get a release from your Dr. We can`t treat you sometimes without a release.

Answer 2

You should check this sciatica natural treatment http://cure-sciatica.info
Normally, I would not answer a question like this as my expertise is generally in medication but I had severe sciatica while I was pregnant with my 3rd child (after having had twins) and I had sciatica so bad that I was finding it difficult to walk. I tried massage therapy and physical therapy and could not take medication
I went to the chiropractor and the pain was instantly relieved. My hips and lower back were out of alignment because I had carried twins the year before. On occasion a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) can also work but they usually only work on one joint at a time - the chiropractor will do your whole back which works faster. Anyone who does not believe in chiropractors will tell you they are quacks - don't listen.
I don't necessarily believe that chiropractors can cure things like diabetes but they can definitely relieve some types of back pain especially if a pinched nerve is involved which is usually the cause of sciatica. Try a reputable chiropractor ASAP!

Answer 3

You do not say when the spinal injured occurred, let alone what treatment you had? I suggest you have a MRI just to see how those L4/5 L5/6 are holding up, or not.

Answer 4

What's your job? Are you sitting down a lot? Could it be to do with your chair or seating position?

My chiropractor suggested I buy a new ergonomic chair, after I'd been coming to her for over a year with sciatica, and I've never been back. Crucially the seat depth is adjustable, so my thighs are supported along the whole length, which is what was causing the problem.