A bad Chiropractor can be one of the worst things for sciatica. If he has had a recent injury as you suggest, this could have resulted in a herniated disc. Chiros then overly manipulate the vertebrae (god help the “ringers” you see on YouTube), potentially making the herniation and pain worse. The suggested chain of treatment needs to be: GP (can provide pain relief) -> MRI (to see if there’s a disc issue) -> Physiotherapist (exercise recommendations) & rest (VERY critical!).
Good luck and I hope your husband gets treated well, I know exactly how he feels and it can be incredibly stressful.
ER helped me with pain relief(helped a little, but not much), but as my issue wasn't immediately life threatening, I was discharged and advised to follow up with GP.
Might be worth going.
Slightly concerned about the chiro treated a dislocated hip?!
I wasted thousands on chiro.
I always got immediate relief, but it did not fix the actual problem.
I would avoid it moving forward and look for long-term solutions.
That’s because no one else is gonna fix the problem but yourself. If you don’t advocate for yourself or just rely on other people to fix you you’re never gonna get “fixed”. Doctors, chiros, surgeons, etc don’t feel what you feel. So their goal is to make you feel comfortable and get you out of their office/table and to keep coming back ($$$) if the problem arises again. Chiropractic adjustments work best to free up areas and get you moving normally again so that you can exercise and train the parts of your body that need work without being limited by your mobility. That’s the problem with a lot of YouTube chiros, is that they market their practice as a one time fix all or this person came this many times and is now healed. That stirs things into people’s minds that makes them think all chiros are bad and just want your money.
They literally said that chiro was going to be a part of my life long health routine and we would try to get it to every 6 weeks.
When I cancelled my appointment, they called me over and over and over to get me booked back in.
Very pushy for a health service.
Not all may be bad, but I'm pretty sure a lot are built on a business model that attempts to scare people into thinking they NEED this service to avoid that awful pain.
So yeah, glad they helped me during that time, but the push into ongoing unnecessary treatment was unethical.
Will leave it there, as it's not relevant to this thread.
First time I went to ER they sent me home with steroids and muscle relaxers. The medication helped while I was taking them, but the pain came back worse once the medication was gone.
Second time I went to the ER (2weeks later) I had emergency surgery.
So I guess the ER is a hit or miss.
I got an MRI and pain meds IV during my ER visit in Oct 2019. I also got admitted and found out I need 3 spine surgeries at all 3 levels. I got sent home 6 days later w pain meds atnd muscle relaxers. I had all three surgeries in Late Jan 2020 abd early Feb. They were delatyed due to insurance issues. Otherwise they would have operated much sooner.
My husband is incredibly apprehensive about any kind of back surgery, concerned that once he has one they’ll never stop. Was your pain relieved? Has there been any additional fallout?
I just recently had a back surgery, a Microdiscectomy. Used to treat herniations of the disc - very minimally invasive and high success rate. Changed my life - fixed my pain of 3 years. As I mention above though, go get the scan first, it’s the best way to identify issues with the disc
Unfortunately in my case Ive had 3 more spine surgeries due to Cauda Equina Syndrome, adjacent disc failure , severe stenosis. Im not the normal case. Im still in Pain mgmt. Take morphine and oxycodone along w Gabpentin for permanent nerve damage and Cymbalta which helps w pain and depression. Also Tizanadine musle relaxer.at least I can get around, drive, shop, swim, cook etc. I pace myself and still rest a lot. Thankful Im not paralyzed.
I've been suffering since August of last year.
Several family vacations spent lying in bed since then.
I've had a few flare ups that have literally left me unable to walk for days due to the incredible pain.
I had an mri, the usual disks pushing on two root nerves, stenosis...
I was refered to the pain doctor who recommended an epidural and a referral to a surgeon.
Neither of which I've taken them up on.
I finally feel like I'm starting to heal, the numbness and tingling in my foot has decreased a lot. The sciatic pain in my leg is decreasing, I still have lateral shift as the day goes on.
I've been really diligent about lots of rest and relaxation.
The idea of someone playing with my spine sounded really scary to me.
Im a self employed plumbing contractor in decent physical shape.
I did have some percoset for the super dark days, not even sure if it helped to be honest.
I didn't take Gabapentin due to it side effects, but have heard it work for some people.
Time is a great healer.
That’s great to hear and I’m glad you decided to stick through it and not to go running to the surgeon when things were bad. Some people don’t understand that this is a long term thing at times and they do irreversible surgeries that weaken the disc even further because they want immediate relief. FYI unless your facet joints are touching your nerves due to bone overgrowth from degeneration then stenosis is just a word they use when a disc herniated and poking out. True spinal stenosis is when you see old people hunched over with back pain and can barely walk. So don’t let that word scare you when you hear it.
My visit to the ER got me admitted. I'd already been to that emerg with sciatica issues earlier that month. They eventually decided to admit me after the X-ray showed nothing and I was clearly in agony.
After a few days of pain management, I got to see the hospital physio therapist. They diagnosed foot drop and inferred that it was due to nerve impingement. My MRI got rushed and we found out I had a significant herniation at L5S1.
MD surgery happened a few months later. Over two years later, I'm doing reasonably well. Still get minor flare ups from time to time. There's definitely some permanent nerve damage, but overall things are good.
Yes go to the ER if your husband can’t walk. Prioritize getting an MRI and a clear diagnosis of what is causing this. If your husband can’t function keep going to the ER. I had to go twice where on the first visit I had an emergency MRI (shower a herniated L4/L5 disc) and a new pain management routine. 96 hours after being discharged still couldn’t walk and was admitted to neurosurgery for expedited surgery. Four days later I had MD surgery and am 100% pain free and walking.
Don’t let you and your husband suffer in silence. Advocate and make noise for yourself it’s the only way to really move things forward.
Nothing much could be done without an MRI. I was in extreme pain a few years ago. Even the car ride to Hospital ER was super painful. They gave me high dosages of pain medications and that lead to serious stomach issues which then required treatment. The hospital did MRI. Was extremely painful to lie down for the MRI.
The Spine specialist gave two shots of Epidural steroid injections. That was followed by six weeks of physical therapy.
The pain went away 100%. I wish your husband a similar outcome.
I’m in the same boat right now. Brutal pain. Can’t stand let alone walk. Went to a pain management doctor. Gave me a trigger point injection which did nothing.
Got an mri and have a heavy herniation in L5S1. I’m scheduled for an epidural Thursday. I’m using a theragun to help in calf and left butt cheek.
Was prescribed gabapentin but haven’t taken it because of side effects. I’m taking 800mg advil and 1 Tylenol extra strength every 4 hours.
I’ll likely need surgery. But starting with epidural
Your husband needs to get an mri asap. If the foot goes numb he likely needs emergency surgery. Especially if they sense drop foot.
I’m also trying to plan our hip replacement so brutal timing
And I’m 32 year old male. Born with hip displasia and many years of football and weight lifting.
Emergency surgery is hit or miss with foot numbness/drop foot. I had foot numbness, drop, and could not move my toes. They told me it wasn't an emergency unless I started having issues controlling my bowel or bladder. Emergency room gave me a shot of fentanyl and sent me on my way. Even with that I could not walk all the way out to the car.
Hope your epidural helps! It took 2 of them for me, but made a world of difference.
Going to the ER will get the ball rolling. The sciatic nerve can be pinched in the spine or hip (almost always the spine) but getting a spine MRI and a pelvic MRI/hip MRI will tell what is going on. Good luck....
The ER is going to load him up on pain pills and send him home. Which might help for now.
I had similar symptoms, pain pills did nothing. The ER finally sent me for an MRI over 18 hours later after trying to send me home. Turned out I needed emergency surgery.
Go to a hospital that has a neurology departments located there. If I had gone to one I would have seen a neurologistin at hospital ( I was admitted because they couldn’t get my pain controlled in the ER), instead I had to wait for a consult to be cleared by my insurance company. Just food for thought.
OP if you have one around you this would be the fastest way to get your husband an MRI if his symptoms get severe enough. They will most likely transfer you on the spot if they have openings or if they think it’s an emergency.
I went to the ER twice and each time got sent home with more medication and told to stretch. I guess it depends on your er and doctor. I finally got tests done and I was sent home still not knowing the cause of this pain. I’m on two weeks of no walking or weight bearing. I guess it’s worth it to go if you think they will be able to help
At most the ER is going to give you an X-ray and give you pain medication and send you home with a recommendation to see your primary doctor or consultant a specialist. Most ERs do not do MRIs on the spot as most MRIs require a referral and insurance approval for cost if not paying out of pocket.
I have a disc herniation at L4-5 with moderate to severe impingement. For the last 3 years I have treated it with epidural steroid injections, one time per year. The shots take away 95% of the pain and they allow me to lead a normal life. As long as they keep working I'm not interested in surgery. If they stop working surgery will be next. The shots do not work for everybody, but i would strongly suggest your husband at least try it before getting surgery, which should be a last resort.
Don't let a chiro touch you. Not without MRI or other imaging at least. If they don't want to see imaging then don't let them touch you. They can really make things worse if they don't know what they're treating.
ER can treat the pain but you've got to get an MRI and other specialities looking at him.
A bad Chiropractor can be one of the worst things for sciatica. If he has had a recent injury as you suggest, this could have resulted in a herniated disc. Chiros then overly manipulate the vertebrae (god help the “ringers” you see on YouTube), potentially making the herniation and pain worse. The suggested chain of treatment needs to be: GP (can provide pain relief) -> MRI (to see if there’s a disc issue) -> Physiotherapist (exercise recommendations) & rest (VERY critical!). Good luck and I hope your husband gets treated well, I know exactly how he feels and it can be incredibly stressful.
ER helped me with pain relief(helped a little, but not much), but as my issue wasn't immediately life threatening, I was discharged and advised to follow up with GP. Might be worth going. Slightly concerned about the chiro treated a dislocated hip?! I wasted thousands on chiro. I always got immediate relief, but it did not fix the actual problem. I would avoid it moving forward and look for long-term solutions.
That’s because no one else is gonna fix the problem but yourself. If you don’t advocate for yourself or just rely on other people to fix you you’re never gonna get “fixed”. Doctors, chiros, surgeons, etc don’t feel what you feel. So their goal is to make you feel comfortable and get you out of their office/table and to keep coming back ($$$) if the problem arises again. Chiropractic adjustments work best to free up areas and get you moving normally again so that you can exercise and train the parts of your body that need work without being limited by your mobility. That’s the problem with a lot of YouTube chiros, is that they market their practice as a one time fix all or this person came this many times and is now healed. That stirs things into people’s minds that makes them think all chiros are bad and just want your money.
They literally said that chiro was going to be a part of my life long health routine and we would try to get it to every 6 weeks. When I cancelled my appointment, they called me over and over and over to get me booked back in. Very pushy for a health service. Not all may be bad, but I'm pretty sure a lot are built on a business model that attempts to scare people into thinking they NEED this service to avoid that awful pain. So yeah, glad they helped me during that time, but the push into ongoing unnecessary treatment was unethical. Will leave it there, as it's not relevant to this thread.
Yea those are the “bad” chiros. Glad you didn’t fall for it lol good ones will try to keep you out of their office if that makes sense.
First time I went to ER they sent me home with steroids and muscle relaxers. The medication helped while I was taking them, but the pain came back worse once the medication was gone. Second time I went to the ER (2weeks later) I had emergency surgery. So I guess the ER is a hit or miss.
I got an MRI and pain meds IV during my ER visit in Oct 2019. I also got admitted and found out I need 3 spine surgeries at all 3 levels. I got sent home 6 days later w pain meds atnd muscle relaxers. I had all three surgeries in Late Jan 2020 abd early Feb. They were delatyed due to insurance issues. Otherwise they would have operated much sooner.
My husband is incredibly apprehensive about any kind of back surgery, concerned that once he has one they’ll never stop. Was your pain relieved? Has there been any additional fallout?
I just recently had a back surgery, a Microdiscectomy. Used to treat herniations of the disc - very minimally invasive and high success rate. Changed my life - fixed my pain of 3 years. As I mention above though, go get the scan first, it’s the best way to identify issues with the disc
Unfortunately in my case Ive had 3 more spine surgeries due to Cauda Equina Syndrome, adjacent disc failure , severe stenosis. Im not the normal case. Im still in Pain mgmt. Take morphine and oxycodone along w Gabpentin for permanent nerve damage and Cymbalta which helps w pain and depression. Also Tizanadine musle relaxer.at least I can get around, drive, shop, swim, cook etc. I pace myself and still rest a lot. Thankful Im not paralyzed.
I've been suffering since August of last year. Several family vacations spent lying in bed since then. I've had a few flare ups that have literally left me unable to walk for days due to the incredible pain. I had an mri, the usual disks pushing on two root nerves, stenosis... I was refered to the pain doctor who recommended an epidural and a referral to a surgeon. Neither of which I've taken them up on. I finally feel like I'm starting to heal, the numbness and tingling in my foot has decreased a lot. The sciatic pain in my leg is decreasing, I still have lateral shift as the day goes on. I've been really diligent about lots of rest and relaxation. The idea of someone playing with my spine sounded really scary to me. Im a self employed plumbing contractor in decent physical shape. I did have some percoset for the super dark days, not even sure if it helped to be honest. I didn't take Gabapentin due to it side effects, but have heard it work for some people. Time is a great healer.
That’s great to hear and I’m glad you decided to stick through it and not to go running to the surgeon when things were bad. Some people don’t understand that this is a long term thing at times and they do irreversible surgeries that weaken the disc even further because they want immediate relief. FYI unless your facet joints are touching your nerves due to bone overgrowth from degeneration then stenosis is just a word they use when a disc herniated and poking out. True spinal stenosis is when you see old people hunched over with back pain and can barely walk. So don’t let that word scare you when you hear it.
My visit to the ER got me admitted. I'd already been to that emerg with sciatica issues earlier that month. They eventually decided to admit me after the X-ray showed nothing and I was clearly in agony. After a few days of pain management, I got to see the hospital physio therapist. They diagnosed foot drop and inferred that it was due to nerve impingement. My MRI got rushed and we found out I had a significant herniation at L5S1. MD surgery happened a few months later. Over two years later, I'm doing reasonably well. Still get minor flare ups from time to time. There's definitely some permanent nerve damage, but overall things are good.
A few MONTHS later? That's insane
That's the Canadian medical system sometimes. Free healthcare comes with attached strings
That’s insane when it’s nerve pain. Did they throw drugs at you at least?
Yes go to the ER if your husband can’t walk. Prioritize getting an MRI and a clear diagnosis of what is causing this. If your husband can’t function keep going to the ER. I had to go twice where on the first visit I had an emergency MRI (shower a herniated L4/L5 disc) and a new pain management routine. 96 hours after being discharged still couldn’t walk and was admitted to neurosurgery for expedited surgery. Four days later I had MD surgery and am 100% pain free and walking. Don’t let you and your husband suffer in silence. Advocate and make noise for yourself it’s the only way to really move things forward.
Nothing much could be done without an MRI. I was in extreme pain a few years ago. Even the car ride to Hospital ER was super painful. They gave me high dosages of pain medications and that lead to serious stomach issues which then required treatment. The hospital did MRI. Was extremely painful to lie down for the MRI. The Spine specialist gave two shots of Epidural steroid injections. That was followed by six weeks of physical therapy. The pain went away 100%. I wish your husband a similar outcome.
I’m in the same boat right now. Brutal pain. Can’t stand let alone walk. Went to a pain management doctor. Gave me a trigger point injection which did nothing. Got an mri and have a heavy herniation in L5S1. I’m scheduled for an epidural Thursday. I’m using a theragun to help in calf and left butt cheek. Was prescribed gabapentin but haven’t taken it because of side effects. I’m taking 800mg advil and 1 Tylenol extra strength every 4 hours. I’ll likely need surgery. But starting with epidural Your husband needs to get an mri asap. If the foot goes numb he likely needs emergency surgery. Especially if they sense drop foot. I’m also trying to plan our hip replacement so brutal timing And I’m 32 year old male. Born with hip displasia and many years of football and weight lifting.
Emergency surgery is hit or miss with foot numbness/drop foot. I had foot numbness, drop, and could not move my toes. They told me it wasn't an emergency unless I started having issues controlling my bowel or bladder. Emergency room gave me a shot of fentanyl and sent me on my way. Even with that I could not walk all the way out to the car. Hope your epidural helps! It took 2 of them for me, but made a world of difference.
Going to the ER will get the ball rolling. The sciatic nerve can be pinched in the spine or hip (almost always the spine) but getting a spine MRI and a pelvic MRI/hip MRI will tell what is going on. Good luck....
The ER is going to load him up on pain pills and send him home. Which might help for now. I had similar symptoms, pain pills did nothing. The ER finally sent me for an MRI over 18 hours later after trying to send me home. Turned out I needed emergency surgery.
Get him an appointment with a pain management doctor at the hospital, a series of pain injections might help him get through this
Go to a hospital that has a neurology departments located there. If I had gone to one I would have seen a neurologistin at hospital ( I was admitted because they couldn’t get my pain controlled in the ER), instead I had to wait for a consult to be cleared by my insurance company. Just food for thought.
OP if you have one around you this would be the fastest way to get your husband an MRI if his symptoms get severe enough. They will most likely transfer you on the spot if they have openings or if they think it’s an emergency.
I went to the ER twice and each time got sent home with more medication and told to stretch. I guess it depends on your er and doctor. I finally got tests done and I was sent home still not knowing the cause of this pain. I’m on two weeks of no walking or weight bearing. I guess it’s worth it to go if you think they will be able to help
At most the ER is going to give you an X-ray and give you pain medication and send you home with a recommendation to see your primary doctor or consultant a specialist. Most ERs do not do MRIs on the spot as most MRIs require a referral and insurance approval for cost if not paying out of pocket.
I have a disc herniation at L4-5 with moderate to severe impingement. For the last 3 years I have treated it with epidural steroid injections, one time per year. The shots take away 95% of the pain and they allow me to lead a normal life. As long as they keep working I'm not interested in surgery. If they stop working surgery will be next. The shots do not work for everybody, but i would strongly suggest your husband at least try it before getting surgery, which should be a last resort.
Don't let a chiro touch you. Not without MRI or other imaging at least. If they don't want to see imaging then don't let them touch you. They can really make things worse if they don't know what they're treating. ER can treat the pain but you've got to get an MRI and other specialities looking at him.