Trapped Nerve

[My Lovely Horse]

Hi All
I need some advice.
Over the last three weeks I have been suffering from pain in my lower back on the left hand side. It runs all the way down my left leg, and into my left foot.

I think that it may be a trapped nerve, in either my knee or the small of my back. Both are swollen.

I am finding it uncomfortable to sit still at the moment, especially as some of our aircraft have got poor seats. It isn’t really affecting my flying.
However I am concerned that if I go the doctors I could be grounded. And in this climate of fear that companies are giving, I am worried about my job.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Go and see a private physio?

Although, I have to say "doesn't really affect my flying" reads to me as "affects my flying and could do so more in some circumstances".

G

[Union Jack]

Sounds like a touch of sciatica to me - and my boy scout's ambulance badge! Good advice from Genghis - on two fronts - and my own preference would be to find a good osteopath to sort you out before it gets worse.

Jack

[FuturePilot79]

I would have to agree with the sciatica diagnosis. (Although I am no doctor) I have seen a couple of people close to me with similar symptoms where it turned out to be two vertebrate pinching the sciatic nerve. My father needed an operation to cure his, but the difference it made was AMAZING. All the best - go and see someone about it as soon as you possibly can.

FP79

[Loose rivets]

The opinion of a pilot.

I would be very, very careful about having it pulled about by anybody - until you know what's causing the pain.

There is a reason, or mixture of reasons why you're feeling the pain in you leg. The nerves that leave the main spinal cord are very vulnerable to bulging discs, but also to general stenosis.

Typically, that nerve will need to move laterally in its duct some 3mm as you move, further in extreme cases. Anything stopping this movement can give rise to pain.

A good Osteopath or Chiropractor will often work miracles, but if the disc has herniated, then there are often fibrous fragments on the edges of the annular tear. The last thing you want is for these to be worked into your nerves. An expert will determine the difference before starting any kind of treatment...but I'd bet my bottom dollar that 99% of the people you'd find would launch into treatment with little or no investigative procedures.

Sitting gives the highest intervertibral disc pressures - not counting things like lifting of course. Add to this the routine moving to reach for flightdeck items - for hours on end - and you can see why flying is one of the worst jobs to have when suffering lower back problems.

Go to a specialist, and try to get an MRI set up so that it's available on his computer by the time you get there. It'll cost you, but believe me, lower back pain can be a life sentence.

[Spunky Monkey]

Thank you all for the advice.
I am booked in to a Chiropractor. A friend of mine has had a very similar problem. It would seem a little bit of manipulation of the back and bobs your uncle. I will keep you informed!

For years I have tried to stamp it out or run off the pain. However the pain has recently got worse and I am putting on weight fom lack of exercise.

[Spunky Monkey]

Just got out of the Chiropractors shop...and I skipped down the road like the Lord of the Dance...
I wish I had done that months ago.

I feel fantastic...about to put on my spandex and go for a bike ride...yippeeee!

[Runaway Gun]

Was it that easy? What did he/she do?

[Loose rivets]

Well, you flipped a coin and came up trumps. Congratulations.

It's one of those situations where if you were one of my kids, I'd be going Phew! Glad that worked out, but my message stands.

A good Osteopath or Chiropractor will often work miracles,

To quote myself, but extreme care is needed in some cases, and pulling it about can cause nerve injury which will never really get better. (Trust me on that one.)

[Spunky Monkey]

Hi
I telephoned the Chp. at 10.00 on Friday morning. I arrived an hour later.
He did some proding and reflex tests as well as some muscle / ligament tests. He then pointed to two areas, my neck and my lower back. Explained what each one was doing, and those littl niggles that I had.
He then lay me on my right side, pulled my left leg and arm over the top of my body and pressed down. Almost like the first aide recovery position.

He then lay me on my back and cricked my neck, left and right, released the trapped bubbles of gas. Just like they do in the barber shops in the far east.

I got dressed, he emptied my wallet of £50. Said the next 7 treatments will cost £30 each, I will see him next saturday.

I skipped out of the office, like Snoopy and Woodstock.

There is a little bit of residual pain in my arse cheek, however I feel so much better and the treatment it didn't hurt a bit.

[Spunky Monkey]

Thanks LR
Years in the Army, Motorbike crashes and a general disregard for health and safety for the last 1/3 of a century has well and truly damaged this body.

A few more nerve endings that are damaged will only go onto the list of damage.:ouch:

However my nosey is still pretty and they are all my own teeth...just don't hit the face!

[gingernut]

I must say, you do owe it to yourself, passengers and crew to discuss this with a medic, 'specially if it could interfere with your flying. I guess that this is a common problem for pilots.

Ok lecture over now. It does sound like sciatica, although diagnosis by internet isn't ideal. The problem is likely to be in the lower back, but the nerve pathways get a little confused, and the brain can ends up thinking the problem is elsewhere-big toe, knee, buttock being common sites.

Your quack will be able to take a detailed history, and depending on several factors, it may be best to take a "watchful waiting" approach at this stage-often things settle on their own.

There are a number of conservative options (pills) which may help, but again, you really need to take expert advice. Some of the treatments may affect your ability to fly. (eg codeine, amitriptyline.)

Unremitting/persistent cases may require further investigation and treatment. There is some fairly robust evidence for chiropracty, (probably more so than for physio).

Surgery, I would suggest, is a last resort.

PS, just re-read your post- when you say "swollen" do you mean its red and inflammed, or just a funny shape?

[lastgasp]

Back to the O.P.

For what it's worth, I had the same symptoms that, in my total medical ignorance, I self-diagnosed as a touch of sciatica, a word I knew but did not really understand. I self-medicated with painkillers/anti-inflammatories which worked for a year or two. However, over time the pain spasms became more acute and eventually debilitating, until the memorable day when a searing flash of pain caused me to fall over!

Panicked into going to the quack, I had an X-ray and was diagnosed with osteo-arthritis of the spine, which seems to be just an elaborate term for "ageing". He prescribed a tablet (Diclofenac) that cannot address an untreatable condition, but does "scramble" the pain signals. Result! No more pain, no more problems.

Moral: you can run but you can't hide. Eventually you will have to see a doctor. If you do it sooner rather than later, you avoid the pain.

[gingernut]

Interesting approach lastgasp- as a matter of interest, was the x-ray ordered by the French or English docs?

The reason I ask, is that it's usually thought that plain x-ray is pretty useless in the management of back pain-the findings of "osteo-arthritis" is as common, (and as useful) as saying an elder has grey hairs.

Glad you're better, just concerned that it took a high dose exposure to get you there.:)