Question:
I've suffered from mild to moderate sciatic nerve pain on and off all my life. During the 1 year that I took birth control pills, I had truly horrible bouts of sciatica every month during the final 2 days before my period. That's why I went off the Pill actually, and once I was no longer on it, the sciatica calmed down to what it had been before -- occasional and mild/moderate.

Well, I'm not on the Pill, but the sciatica has returned with a vengeance these past 3 days. I'm miserable and about to go to a chiropractor for an emergency treatment to see if he can ease the pressure.

My question is this:

Does anyone know of a connection between hormones and sciatica? I'm asking because I know my hormones are all over the map now with very little consistency in levels, so I'm wondering if a shift in hormones is bringing on the sciatica again. I just did a quick google search and came up with nothing that indicates a connection, so maybe someone else here has some first-hand or second-hand experience?

Answer:

I have also had sciatica since my mid-30's. It used to act up around the time of my period. I just assumed that it acted up because of bloating, putting more pressure on my bad disks, maybe it was hormonal? I have not had much trouble with it recently.

Did you lift something the wrong way, or bend or twist, to cause this current attack? I have found that accupuncture works very quickly on sciatica, never been to a chiropractor.

Hope you get a lot of relief, I know how bad sciatic pain is. I'd not thought about it being due to pressure from bloating. Not sure how bloated I actually get these days since I'm carrying 20 more pounds than I used to. I just assumed it was the hormones themselves causing problems.

The chiro I'm going to comes recommended -- by another chiropractor I'd called who was already booked solid for the next 3 days. There are others here in town that have accupuncturists and massage therapists working with them, so I should be able to get some relief pretty soon, one way or another.

Sciatic pain may have nothing to do with back/disc problems. It can be caused by piriformis syndrome, SI (sacro-iliac) ligament tightness or laxity (this could tie in with the 'hormone' scenario) or several other more serious conditions, like MS, which have sciatic pain as a symptom . At the very minimum, Catherine, you should have a thorough physical work up, perhaps with a physical therapist, to determine the cause of the pain. Assuming that it is a back condition and then embarking on a back strength and stretch program can make the pain worse if indeed there is another problem.

I, too, have suffered sciatic pain for many years. I was diagnosed with sciatica by a neurologist and given a series of stretches and exercises which only made the pain worse. Because I teach fitness and the pain was limiting my ability to work, I made an appointment with a exercise physiologist. He was the one who discovered that my sciatic pain was caused by piriformis syndrome and the exercises that I was doing were contraindicated for me. I was given a new set of exercises which were successful in managing the pain.

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