Surprising news from Ortho Doc – BionicOldGuy

I saw my new orthopedic doctor for the first time today (my previous doctor was retired). I got surprising news: I have sciatica From my back (Not the hip, like the piriformis muscle). My dorsal MRI shows bulging of the lumber disc and spinal stenosis, where the sciatic nerve exits on the left side. The condition is mild, so under normal circumstances the nerve is not compressed. But anything that inflames the disc can put pressure on the disc and cause sciatica. This explains the appearance of the first symptoms of sciatica after strenuous exercise about a month ago. Then it subsided after a few weeks, and I picked it up again with more exercise. This also explains why the PT exercises I was doing, which were specifically for the piriformis and SI joint, were not working as well as they had in the past because they did not directly target the lumbar spine. For now, he’s going to start me on prednisone, which he thinks will do the trick since my sciatica has already subsided a lot. I am allowed to exercise, including cycling and PT, as long as there is no sign of sciatica. I will start adding more force and back off as needed. I would also look into PT exercises specific to the lower back area (there’s a good reference here). I want to build muscle in this area so it will be less fragile in the future.