Sciatica has eased, but legs very weak

Brain and nerves
1

Good Evening,

I was suffering from sciatica for several months.  While the symptoms have progressively eased (though my right thigh continues to have a pins & needles sensation in the front), I am now suffering from very weak legs.  If I am laying flat on my back in bed, I cannot really lift my legs up.  If I am laying on my stomach, however, I can bend them.  My walking has been very strained this week, and I am moving at a snail's pace.  My right leg seems to have more strength, but not much.  One of my biggest frustrations has been the increasing difficulty of getting off the toilet seat.  Today was the worst, as I ended up falling off in my attempt to get up.  I just don't have enough leg strength to get myself up.  

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

2

Hi,

When you lift your leg, you are extending your leg.

When you bend at the knee or move the leg backwards, you are flexing your leg.

Extensor muscles only extend.

Flexsor muscles only flex.

You have a spine, a cervical spine, a thoracic spine, a lumbar spine, and a sacral spine.

Your nervous system begins with your brain, continues down the spinal cord which runs through a foramen, a hole, in the middle of each vertebrae. Inbetween two vertebrae is a disc..a spongy shock absorber. Also inbetween two vertebrae a left nerve root and a right nerve root come off of the spinal cord and innervate a specific area of the body. Rach nerve root biforcates into anterior, front, and posterior, back.

When the spinal cord itself divides into two, we say right sciatic nerve and left sciatic nerve. If you have an inflammation of either sciatic nerve, you can push in the center of a buttock and you will feel pain.

You have a compression of the right sciatic nerve...do you have arthritis?

NSAID medication will address the inflammation...non steriodal anti inflammatory drug...ask the pharmacist. Take this as the label directs for three weeks.

Use acetaminophen 500 mg no closer than every six hours.. you do not want to cause liver issues.

For three weeks do this, then reassess.

If you do not improve, see your physician.

kind regards

judith

3

Hi, I have read Judith's reply and her explanation , but bascically no kind of drugs will give you any kind of muscular strength. Judith has kindly given you the basic drug advice but you have to, I mean obligatorily HAVE to do muscle strengthening exercises. The less you move the weaker you will get and it's progressive. If you're now not in great pain you should be standing up staight in front of a mirror and standing on your toes, do twenty times, pause and do another twnty if you can. Stand, holding a chair and try lifting your right leg up at a right angle, like a march. Do it four or five times. Then the other leg. The muscles need exercise to get back the strength they've lost. You need to do physiotherapy. Exerecises.You can find some stuff on Youtube, videos for Scaitica pain.  I'm doing hydro-therapy and it doesn't hurt , it's because you don't have to fight gravity. Also posture changes with pain , so I'm also doing Sourchards RPG. Type of postural exercises designed to stretch the spine . Good luck. 

4

Absolutely...I so agree!

5

BTW Since you are so weak and having difficulty with balance I would advise you to get your residense , especially the bathroom fitted with a rail to hang on to. The last thing you want at this stage in your life is to sustain a fall. Have rails installed by the loo and in your shower stall or tub or whatever it is that you have. 

You can't expect your legs to get stronger by themselves, it's not nice , but a fcat that unless you do ersercises you won't have good life quality. Perhaps you should be taking an anti-depressant? It soemtimes helps to give the little push needed to do move around more. The more you move the better you'll feel. It's not easy I know, hang in there! Bye for now...