i injured myself in iraq doing some training and basically whats going on is i lost mobility in my left leg …i cant really sit straight and extend my leg out without a sharp pain in my piriformis area and hip joint.The pain sometimes generates to the outer part of my left calf as well. if i grin and bear it i can do a couple leg extensions but its really painful. any suggestions and help would be appreciated
Sounds like either a significant case of sciatica or a possible disc bulge. The movement and symptoms you’ve described are very similar to that of teh Slump Test. I’m not sure how the military works, but I would check about seeing a doc regarding this. If it is a disc issue, you don’t want to just let it linger.
You definitely should see a physician, as this can be multiple issues ranging from a spine issue, to hip arthritis, to a torn meniscus, etc.
beef
Ive been twice im currenly seein a chiro but the doc at the va says its just a tense muscle and to pop some muscle relaxers .lo and behold no improvement
Thanls fpr the onput guys
What kind of docs have you seen? Just the chiro or an orthopedic physician?
yea basically only a regular physician and a chiropractor
Any possibility of seeing an orthopedic physician? Somebody more familiar with low back injuries and disc/neurological issues? I know things are different in the military so I’m not sure what your availability will be.
i can request it and see how it goes on my next appt
Ortho is the way to go. Doctors can’t make these types of diagnoses without some imaging. The tight muscle might BE THE RESULT of a torn meniscus or something similar.
Something just popped in my head. I apologize if this is stupid, but if it is something, is there any chance you can be discharged from the military? I’m not sure if you’re still active, career, etc, but that might be something to consider.
I dont rhink its serious enough to consider a discharge im currently in reserve status so basically i can find my own docs and such which is great but lately all ive seen are ones that wanna drug you up instead of fixing the issue…funny thing the pain associated with it is only limited to specific movements
If you are free to find your own physician, I would recommending finding a good orthopedic physician who possibly has a focus in low back/spine injuries. I would def want to rule out disc issues and/or significant sciatic nerve irritation, especially with the radiating pain into your calf and the slump test position you put yourself in (sitting and extending your knee) causing pain as well.
forgive me for interupting, could we pull back a sec?
you’ve seen a doc, and the doc did what to say that it’s not a big deal?
you’ve also seen a chiro who did what to help move you out of pain and said what?
agree that an ortho would be a good person to see if this is persisting.
In the interim, it’s a good idea not to go looking for the pain. find the range of motion and movements that don’t cause pain and do those gently.
a lot of us have a tendency to try “does it still hurt? does that still make it hurt?” poke poke poke.
are you somewhere you can use a web cam by the way to see you move?
mc
the doc basically asked what my symptons were . i showed him were the pain was, and he said take these pills and itll loosen up ur back and relieve pain on ur nerve…thats it. chiro has been doing adjustments which i feel are working and also doing some electric stimulation. ive been slowly and gently working on mobility like slow leg extensions until i can get it at full extension but i still feel it pulling at like the top area of my butt and lower back.
sounds good - you may want to try this nerve glide - gently gently
wow thats an interesting article. i gotta incorporate that in my stretches i do .
[quote]jsheptock wrote:
wow thats an interesting article. i gotta incorporate that in my stretches i do .[/quote]
you may find that you can stretch less too.
more joint mobility, less stretching, nerve glide work you’ll be rocking
im hoping this injury is killing my run time as well