Hi Susan,
I, too, suffer with sciatica, and mine came on while in the middle of my third pregnancy. I also discovered after the birth of my third child that it actually runs through my Dad's side of the family. Isn't it a pain ? I hate it when my hip just seizes up. I find it comes on when I have been doing an activity that I don't often do, like cleaning the kitchen floor on my hands and knees, getting up from the floor and finding I can't walk. My hips don't like pushing a heavy supermarket trolley, either.
I found, though that exercise helped my sciatica, it seems to bounce back if I have an exercise lull.
I also found that if it was playing up, and I just became stationary (like sitting down for a long time) then it would be really bad, but if I moved around it would ease the pain.
I also got recommended to put a special ice pack on the area, where the pain is, you can buy them from chemists (drugstores). You pop it in the freezer and cover it with a towel, and press it against the sore area. I have never tried this, so I can't say whether it works or not ?
I got no real help from my Doctor, I have been told there is not an awful lot you can do with sciatica ?
I find sitting on a hard chair, while on the computer, can cause my hip to twinge, so I am wondering if a stability ball might help with that ?
Anyway, I am sorry I am not Maryann, but I felt I had to reply to your post because I can sympathise.
Thanks
Anna
