Sciatic nerve pain after exercise?

Submitted by petrified52 on February 18, 2013 - 11:25am
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Hi ladies. I have a question for my mom who also has POP. I gave her the elder woman video and she has been trying it. She is 68 years old and is having sciatic nerve pain after exercising. She has had trouble with her sciatic nerve for years. She puts ice on her lower back but I was wondering what else she might be able to do so that she can still do the exercises? She also tends to lean to that side when she walks. Thanks much.....

Forum:

Surviving60

February 18, 2013 - 6:56pm

Petrified, if the Elders DVD is causing her pain, I'm not sure what to suggest. Is she able to stand and move in posture? Can she walk for her exercise? - Surviving

Bebe

February 18, 2013 - 7:34pm

I used to have sciatic nerve pain quite often. I found that stretching my back helped a lot. I haven't seen the Elders DVD so I don't know what stretches may already be recommended, but my experience has been that stretching before and after exercise helps. And stretching helped sciatic pain for sure. It doesn't really make sense to me; it seems like stretching should be for muscle relief....but it worked for me.

petrified52

February 18, 2013 - 8:05pm

Hi Surviving. I'm not sure if the DVD exercises are causing her pain or she may just be that much out of shape right now. She has had problems with her sciatic nerve off and on for quite some time. She has been able to stand and move in the posture but of course it has been tiring for her. She has a very difficult life, emotionally, and has many demands on her time by other people who aren't very considerate of her condition. She can probably walk for exercise but is afraid to go alone. My father walks too quickly for her and gets mad when she can't keep up. She does have a treadmill, though, so maybe that would be good for her to try. I would like to see her get as much improvement as she can and she tells me that things have been worsening for her in the last couple of years. Too bad that we didn't know about this forum much sooner. I am still hopeful that things will improve for her little by little.

petrified52

February 18, 2013 - 8:08pm

Yes, Bebe, I think that you are right about the stretching. I know it has been helpful to her in the past. Maybe if she warms up a bit with some gentle stretching before doing the workout it would help her. Thank you......

Surviving60

February 19, 2013 - 4:49am

Yes, I think the treadmill is a good idea for her. This time of year, I use mine all the time, as I wouldn't get that much walking in otherwise. Slow and steady, staying in good posture. Can she straighten up if she tries, or is the leaning a permanent thing? I love the idea of you and your mom doing WW together! - Surviving

petrified52

February 19, 2013 - 10:51am

Surviving, my mom can stand straight. It has been a great support for me to be able to talk to my mom about my POP. We both feel down at times and we can cry to one another. We both encourage and tell each other that we MUST go on. We both also have IBS with a tendency to get running to the bathroom at times. At least at those times we are not straining. It does make it difficult to leave the house and taking meds isn't really an option because you tend to swing to the other extreme. I do wish that we lived in the same town. We talk almost every day or text, but she is 30 miles away. I am the oldest (52) of 5 difficult deliveries she had starting at age 16. My parents have been married almost 55 years. My youngest sister is 31. My mom tells me that my great-aunt and my great grandmother also had prolapse, which is something that I never knew. I also think that my grandmother must have also had this because she talked about the nurses at the hospital jumping on her stomach to help her during the delivery of my mom. She said that she was never the same after that and that she spent the rest of her life with some degree of bladder incontinence. She didn't really like to talk about it.
I will certainly tell mom to dust off the treadmill and try a slow, relaxing walk in WW posture. I am so glad that both of us are able to benefit from this site. Thank you so much......

Surviving60

February 19, 2013 - 4:56pm

Petrified, can she walk on this treadmill without leaning forward? Mine is powered and it is constructed in such a way that I can keep one or both hands lightly resting on arms that come out the side. I can actually swing my arms (one at a time though, since I don't like to lose hand contact completely for fear of drifting forward or backward on the belt). In other words I can walk perfectly upright while still holding on, because I don't have to hold onto the bar that is out in front of me. If I did, I fear I might find myself ever-so-slightly leaning forward as I walked, which isn't exactly conducive to the posture. Something to check on.... - Surviving

petrified52

February 20, 2013 - 1:13pm

Thanks, surviving. I will make sure that she remembers to stand straight and not lean forward. I do think that her treadmill has the side arms on it and it is also motorized. I'm sure that she wouldn't want to "let go" completely either as she would probably worry a bit about her balance. Sometimes I have to remind myself about leaning forward as well. I get confused by thinking that any leaning forward is "dumping" my organs forward but I must remember that obtuse angle going on there. Thanks again for all of your wonderful insight.

louiseds

February 22, 2013 - 4:41am

Can she slow the treadmill right down. When learning WW posture I think it is important not to have to hurry to keep up with a machine (or a Grandad).

Perhaps your father could walk quickly in circles around her, and she can walk in a straight line, at her pace? ;-)

MsNightingale

February 22, 2013 - 7:17am

How wonderful for both you and your mom that you have such a good friendship that you talk most days and can openly discuss all of this. I am wondering if your dad would be willing to take his fast walk on his own and then somewhere later in the day, take a gentle slower one with your mom. Maybe if you discuss with him the value of this for her, he would be willing to make it a special half hour spent together with her, all done at her pace. It seems to me that would be the very best thing. Then, if not, the treadmill. I am thinking that the gift of this posture has some hope for the sciatica as well. As for doing stretches, it is my belief that it is best to warm up a bit before exercising and then gentle stretches when we are cooling down. I do not know the elders DVD but on the others, that is basically what Christine does. If your mom is doing extra back stretches, then she would want the muscles to be already warmed up for those. All the best to you and to your mom!

petrified52

February 23, 2013 - 7:34pm

Thanks Louise. I think she can slow her treadmill way down. Walking with my dad is probably not going to work as he is very impatient and not a very empathetic person. It might be good for her to do the treadmill at a quiet time when she is home by herself during the day. She had been leaning on the grocery cart when we would go shopping and I told her that is not good and she needs to be able to stand straight. She says that she is feeling improved since starting the WW posture and not wearing the girdle that she was using to try to hold up what is falling down. (and out) Until finding this website, she didn't know how bad the girdle pushing in on the stomach would be for the prolapse.

petrified52

February 23, 2013 - 7:48pm

MsNightingale, thanks so much for your suggestions for my mom. I wish I could say that my dad was someone that is understanding and empathetic. Unfortunately, he has no patience and is quite a task to be around on a daily basis. He is very demanding and my mom has many stressful days. I do think that she can do the treadmill while he is at work and go at a pace that is comfortable for her. Maybe she can play some soothing music to relax while she walks. The elder DVD is quite slow and easy but she had not been doing very much exercise and she tried to do the entire video every time. I think that she should just do a portion of it until she begins to feel more comfortable. I don't do the entire First Aid for Prolapse DVD either. I am up to the part with the bar and ankle weights (which I do not have but need to purchase some) I agree that a slight warm-up does help with doing the workout. We do talk about all the difficulties with this condition and nothing is off-limits to discuss. It is very helpful, especially for me to ask her questions since she has had this for some 15 years. I don't know why it never occurred to me that I could develop it. I feel badly that I never really appreciated how much of a struggle it was for her and I too had told her that she should just, "Go get it fixed." I never knew the implications of what I was saying to her. I am so glad that she never had any surgery. We do check on one another and support each other. Thanks again for your kind words and suggestions. My best to you as well.......

fab

February 23, 2013 - 7:59pm

Interesting about the girdle petrified. I remember as a teenager my friends and I discarded the girdle. It seemed to be obligatory wear holding up stockings and pulling (proud) stomachs in. I think that is part of the reason my generation so eagerly assumed wearing pants which was a shocking thing to do when I was fourteen. I remember a neighbour coming for a serious talk with my mother when I first sported them.

But back to the girdle, one of my friend's mothers wanted to know how we were going to prevent prolapse if we did not wear the girdle. Some women at that time were under the impression a girdle kept things in. Not saying your mum did, just saying that generation were weaned to wear girdles. Not too unlike the later 'suck in your tummy' directive which I first heard in a gymnastics class.

Nice to see what a nurturing relationship you and your mum have.

cheers, Fab

petrified52

February 24, 2013 - 11:58am

Thanks Fab! Mom said that she was wearing the girdle for the underneath support. I guess it made her feel like something more substantial than undies was holding the drooping. She couldn't think of anything else to try to give support. Now she is going to order a V-brace to help in that area. Hope it works well for her. It is true that she came from that era when girdles were a common undergarment. Even now, they are selling jeans, etc. with "built in" tummy panels to hold everything in. I hope that many more people aren't damaged by wearing these. They are a huge seller and quite expensive. Thanks Fab!

louiseds

March 4, 2013 - 1:14am

I stopped wearing jeans many years ago, before lycra denim, because they compressed my considerable lower belly, flapped at the waist and fitted like a potato sack around my butt and thighs. I don't like denim jeans because they are so expensive, and the lycra dies after such a short time and leaves a baggy crotch. The fit is no better, just the stretch.

I think lycra denim is such an oxymoron, combining the best of stretch with the best of cowgirl toughness "for Goldilocks-perfect control, with freedom of movement'. It is all about perfect body-hugging fit and control of our bellies, that would otherwise roar their disapproval of control at fashion gurus, who want to keep us perpetually unhappy with our clothes, so we buy new ones frequently! (Ker-ching!!!) Never satisfied.

It rings bells that are singing, "Women need to be controlled!" Wooooo, that's a bit Freudian.

" Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in

Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever, but I ask you please
Don't fence me in"

Thankyou, Cole Porter!

Just turn me loose
Let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the Western skies

On my Cayuse
Let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise

I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
And I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Thankyou, Cole Porter!

No lycra denim for me. Now, lycra cotton knits are a different kettle of fish - for me the perfect fabric for trousers!

I remember my mother at one point saying that she no longer enjoyed wearing skirts because they pulled at her waist. I think she was about my age at the time. I have recently come to the same conclusion. It feels like my waist wants to expand more than it used to do, one of the postmenopause changes, perhaps?

Life goes on.

Louise

petrified52

March 4, 2013 - 10:12am

Thanks, Louise! Such a coincidence about that song. My mom said that she would sing that song when she was 4 years old. I wish I could've heard her do that. If they had camcorders back then, maybe I would've. Funny that you should comment on "women controlled." One of the most recent brand names of the "tummy tucking" garments are called, "Women with control." LOL Not for me. I think I will pull my sewing machine out this summer and get back to making some clothes like I did when my son was little. I got away from that but it might just be time to return to it. Still learning and growing and moving in the posture, thanks to all of you ladies!

MsNightingale

March 6, 2013 - 8:20am

I love this post.....thank you dear ones!