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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
 Posted - May 31 2012 : 5:57:48 PM
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I've been having really bad sciatica flare-ups lately.  To the point where I've had to stand instead of sit and take a pain med just to get through the day. I have arthritis in my lumbar spine so that's probably the source but the flare ups have been caused by two falling incidents while bucking hay bales within this last 10 months or so. I've adjusted my asana routine a little to hopefully help ease this and done some net searching, but I'd like to hear from some of you hatha experts on just what I should and should not do to get some healing. I'm not in a position to see a chiropractor or other healer at this point due to no insurance and no $$, so I'm on my own. thanks for any help. |
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Medea
Netherlands
115 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 05:41:56 AM
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Hi LittleTurtle,
I myself no expert but I have a friend who has been a Hatha Yoga teacher for over a decade. I asked him about this and he advised the following (note; from you post I assume that you are familiar with asana. Under all circumstances go slow, take time to ease in and out of the poses. Stay at a level that feels comfortable enough. Don't strain):
- Warm up with some calm sun salutations if that's possible.
- Then do a Janu Sirsasana variation: from Dandasana bend the right leg and place the heel close to the perineum. Then with the left hand, grab the outside of the left foot (or if you cannot reach the ankle or even higher). Then with the right hand you grab the toes of the same (left) foot. In this way it becomes a side bend. Stay there for 5 minutes. Repeat on other side.
- Follow up with a 10 minute pashimottasana.
- Locust; (the way it is done in AYP). Repeat 3 times.
- Finish up with makarasana with the toes pointing out to the sides. 4-5 minutes.
Do this once a day. BTW: I find that practices like this with long holds are excellent as a preparation for sitting practices :) Good luck to you!
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 06:02:32 AM
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| sun salutations are great for arthritis especially downward facing dog...practice slowly... |
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HathaTeacher
Sweden
382 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 12:12:40 PM
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Core & abs are core but it takes many small steps, in full control, no jump-starts (that would backfire).
When it's acute, like after coming up from a chair or a bed, walk immediately, in small steps (taking bigger ones only gradually). Move cautiously, moderately - but move many times a day, avoiding unnecessary sitting/standing/lying down. Gradually, try a couple of very small steps in an upward stretch (Urdhva Hasta Asana), lengthening the abs, core, and spine.
Do not exceed your individual edge in the painful area, and never train with painkillers in your body (pain in all training is an important signal worth respect), and whenever you take them, use those with some anti-inflamatory effect (pills or local gel).
In the medium term, to cure the arthritis, try MSM with Glucosamine and Chondroitin (that's close to "school medicine") or bovine Colostrum + a very strong antioxidant such as OPC (that's not "school" but still mostly a medicine) or an herb, or herb extract, or homepatic solution - most frequent is arnica, but for lower spine, you can try Large Nastrurtium (latin: Tropaeolum Majus, the largest sort, originally from Peru) as alcohol extract, "fruits", whole young plants in sallads, whatever... That sort contains among other things Sulphur (like MSM) in digestible, organic form, is anti-inflamatory, and strengthens the urinary and reproductive system; interestingly, the acupuncture meridian of those goes right up the painful "schiatic" area along the lower spine.
Such cures don't make any mechanical corrections to the spinal cord, but will stop inflamations and cramps in the affected muscles (and thereby, more than half of the pain).
"McKenzie training" (therapists call it so, I think) starts with (moderate!!) backbends first before even trying a forward bend, for example:
Low-to-medium Cobra with most of the weight still on the arms, gentlr and extremely short sustains - but an increasing number of repeats (this holds true in most kinds of "comeback" training shortly after an injury).
Setu-bandha Asana with bent knees, arms straight on the mat.
Lying on the mat, make a swayback and from there, let that movement propagate like a slow warm wave up the spine, inhaling all the way as you enter, vertebra by vertebra up to the neck, very aware of the entire movement and of each vertebra. Go back down just as slowly, vertebra by vertebra, on exhalation. Repeat 5 times, (increase little by little to 10-15). Stay up there for a second (on retention).
After a couple of weeks, try stretching 1 leg up (alternately) during the sustain, horizontally (and several weeks later perhaps vertically as long as it doesn't aggravate the pain).
A gentle Cat-and-Cow, no sustains but many repeats, the breath driving the movement (slowly).
Add more little by little.
Quite soon after the acute phase, you might be able to stretch out an arm and a leg in the cow, approx. horizontally, to lenthen the core and abs (diagonally, alternating L+R / R+L).
I'd pospone traction treatment. Early on, the risk is that as the body comes back to normal position, the vertebrae might go somewhere else... (a bit off their normal healthy places).
Cycling might help when it's no longer acute, especially if your handlebars allow for a variety of arm positions, and if you can put a part of your weight on the arms (on bumps and holes, it's best to come up a bit, almost to standing, using the bent knees as suspension).
In the winter, classical-style cross country skiing gives the best relief (even here, it's yummy if you can use the arms to carry some of your weight).
You can try "standard" breathing schemes from tantrist hathayoga, but be more aware of your body that of the books. Quite often, it's in fact easier to cope with a potentially painful movement or position when it's performed on retention, with lungs 100% full, as the air pressure gives some extra support to the spine from within (good to know when you resume an asana after abstaining from it involuntarily for months... ) Backbends of all kinds are nice even in this respect - when you're all the way into a backbend, the lungs are filled up.
See also this thread:
www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....D=10614#90587
Get better !
_/\_ |
Edited by - HathaTeacher on Jun 01 2012 12:49:15 PM |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 5:55:29 PM
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Wow. Thank you Medea, maheswari, and HathaTeacher especially for such a detailed reply. I'll take into consideration all this advice. Especially about not practicing while on pain meds.  |
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HathaTeacher
Sweden
382 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 10:33:20 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by LittleTurtle
...not practicing while on pain meds.
If you only do (cautious) movements or poses that you're sure would be comfortable even without a pain med, even in your current state, then it's good to practice.
It's a tightrope walk, because a complete lack of movement would be risky (painful in the long run), too.
Get better! _/\_ |
Edited by - HathaTeacher on Jun 02 2012 10:34:51 AM |
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NSB
Australia
32 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 08:13:22 AM
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I don't have arthritis, but if I did I would try the borax treatment outlined here www.health-science-spirit.com/borax.htm.
Let me know if you want a (free) distance Bowen Therapy. I am a practitioner but I have never done a distance session. I would kind of like to try it, see if it works (apparently it does). I know sciatica responds pretty well in person. Bowen therapy usually works in 1-3 sessions so it is more affordable than many treatments.
Anyway I hope you find something that helps.
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 2:39:46 PM
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| Thanks NSB. I'll look into it. |
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machart
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2012 : 11:47:49 PM
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Hi little turtle,
I had some bad sciatica and hip openers like pigeon really helped.
There is a DVD by Erich Shiffmann that focuses on hip openers that I highly recommend.
Mac |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2012 : 12:56:05 AM
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| Thanks Mac. I have been doing pigeon pose. Feels good. Today I realized that I really just need to rest my body and stop trying to 'fix' something. It's so bad that I can't sit for more than 5 minutes so I basically just lay in bed today and rested. I feel way better - at the moment at least. I may need to rest a bit more to make any headway. In my asanas I have focused on the hip opener types. But like I said I think I'll just rest everything for a while and see what comes of it. Thanks for all the advice. |
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mathurs
United Kingdom
197 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2012 : 07:14:14 AM
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| Sciatica can be so painful. Take it easy and hope you feel better soon! |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2012 : 1:35:42 PM
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| Thank you mathurs |
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Guy_51
USA
170 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2012 : 3:27:33 PM
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Hi Little Turtle,
I have had sciatica many times over the past 20 years or so. It would get so bad that I could not do anything but walk around. The only thing that would help even just a little was taking very strong codiene. NOT A GOOD SOLUTION... Then one day a golf pro friend of mine sent me a cassette tape entitledl (if I remember correctly it was over 10 years ago) "Dead Doctors Don't Lie"
Anyway, in that tape the doctor said the cure... Yes cure for sciatica is to take gelatine capsules.
You can buy them at almost any drug store over the counter. I have heard some women take it to strenghten their nails and hair. This doctor said the gelatine coats the spinal column much like oil lubes an engine. All I can say is it was a godsend to me, as I haven't had any of those horrible symptons since. I took 6 to 8 caps per day for about one week and then reduced it to 2 to 4 a day for about a month and that was it. Hope this helps.
Guy |
Edited by - Guy_51 on Jun 14 2012 3:28:36 PM |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2012 : 10:55:17 PM
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| Wow, definitely going to check that out. Thanks Guy! |
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snake
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
Posted - Dec 17 2012 : 01:54:12 AM
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Hi Turtle
You can get gelatin powder from amazon.works out fairly cheap and it actually tastes nice in orange juice or yogurt/milk or bone broths.
I use one by Now foods.
I got into gelatine ala Ray Peat website.
Hope it helps
Chris |
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Sciatica
