Continued Sciatic Pain?

I gave birth to my first baby on 16/2. Before getting pregnant I had the occasional sciatic twinge on my left side. While pregnant I had frequent sciatic pain, especially at the end when bubs was head-down posterior and hanging out on the left side. I couldn't lay flat as the pain would be unbearable

Since having Oliver, I've continued to have sciatic pain. I can lay flat on my back now without pain, but whenever I stand up from sitting I get a spasm of pain which feels like my leg is going to go out from under me. Quite scary when I'm usually holding the baby. Is this normal to linger, or have I done some permanent damage? Any suggestions of what I can do to fix it? And who would I see about it? GP, chiro, physio?

I think a part of your body may be out of alignment and pressing on the sciatic nerve which may cause the sudden lameness.

In a case like this, my choice of practitioners in order of preference:
osteopath
physiotherapist
chiropractor

Get one o them to check you out - they should be able to help as it is not an uncommon issue.

I read somewhere recently that most people who think they have sciatic pain when pregnant don't actually have it - it's more likely to be one of the many other pregnancy related things like PGP etc.

It also said that sciatica is not brought on by pregnancy so if you do get it during pregnancy you would've got it anyway and therefore are likely to have it afterwards as well (whereas PGP etc will go away). I've had sciatica for many years (pre pregnancy obviously) but find it comes and goes in waves. It can go away for years and then suddenly come back again, it's a very strange thing. It doesn't bother me that much so I just put up with it. I've only suffered it for a few days so far in this pregnancy.

If your pelvis is out of alignment then there is a good chance the pain is being caused by pressure on one of the nerves. When I get that kind of pain in also hurts behind my knee and my toes can feel numb. It can be very debilitating some days.

I would advise you to see someone about it sooner rather than later. The earlier you get treatment, the sooner it will improve and it will take less treatments. Also think about how you do things. Use fluid, purposeful movements and keep your pelvis even, ie swing both legs out of the car before you get out etc.

Pilates is great for getting some strength in our lower back/pelvic region also. It's easy for beginners and low impact.

:hug:

I've had a lot of sciatic pain in the past 5+yrs (after incorrectly doing a yoga stretch whilst very overweight....of all things!!) and what I've found that has helped the most is strengthening my core and pelvic muscles which were totally non-existent. Admittedly I've had the help of a personal trainer though. Do you belong to a gym? Perhaps ask for some stretching / movement recommendations.

Initially I found a chiro could get rid of it almost straight away through adjustment (but would always eventually have to go back) but I don't recommend a chiro anymore after a bad adjustment a chiro did to my neck. My GP told me flat out not to even consider a chiro, but everyone is different. I've also been seeing a physio and they can recommend lots of stretches, as well as working on muscle areas through massage for you.

The most consistent advice I was given by any professional was to keep active and don't cross your legs when sitting etc.

Yep, I've done pilates before and am looking forward to starting again, just waiting for Oliver to hit 6 weeks so I can pop him in the creche for an hour during class. I'll speak to my GP at my 6 week check and see what she says about it too.

Being a physio myself, I would recommend you go and see a good physio about this. Preferably somebody with postgraduate training in spinal care. My suggestion would be somebody with McKenzie qualifications (as the research base on this is excellent) in order to get rid of the pain etc. Once you have normalised movement and have 'healed' a bit, you can look at doing some central stability or control work like Pilates. Oh by the way, you can do what is called Clinical Pilates which is delivered by a physio one to one, and is designed to get rid of your back pain but then also improve core control.

If you want to find out if there is a qualified McKenzie therapist near you just let me know. Where are you based?