Leg pain

Hi guys,

I've been running regularly since mid April and recently ran my first 10k. In the couple of weeks before the run I was experiencing some discomfort in my glutes,which then ended up starting to affect my left leg around the hip, thigh and knee. I went to my doctor and he diagnosed a pinched sciatic nerve. For this he gave me some stretches to do everyday and Naproxen 500mg tablets. He didn't tell me to rest or cease running.

The pain did improve suffciently to enable me to run a 5k the Tuesday before my 10k on the Sunday, but now I'm struggling quite badly.

The pain seems to be particularly bad around my hip/thigh to the point whereby soemtimes when I stand on my left leg it feels quite weak and painful. I've been reading a lot about the IT band problems a lot of runners have, and in all honsety this seems closer to my symptoms than a piched sciatic nerve (although I do have some minor lower back pain).

I guess I have some questions:

1. Has anyone on the forum had problems smilar to this?

2. Did you continue training and how?

3. What methods did you use to recover from the problems?

Hi Matt

Stop stretching....

Start getting your thoracic spine to move (foam roller, or towel up your spine, knee bent up). Run taller, but not stiffer

Look into getting some proper Pilates type rehab, and running specific stability exercises.

Coolio

Sciatic pain occurs when you loose movement control of your lower back - not the gross movement, but how one joint moves in relation to another.

The body being super lazy will take the path of least resistance when moving from A to B - if your back has an instability (and most symptomatic backs do) then this is the bit which move first and most.

Being lazy, if one bit moves more than another bit then that bit'll become less and less mobile (and if it doesn't move you won't feel it.....coz it's not moving!) Your thoracic spine is this bit.

So the more mobile your lumbar spine is, the stiffer your thoracic spine becomes (and exagerated through posture, slouching, PC use etc). Get your stiff bit to move to keep the excessive load off of your bendy, painful bits. Get your bendy bits to move less (stability exercises) so your stiff bits have to move.

Six Physio wrote (see)

Hi Matt

Stop stretching....

Start getting your thoracic spine to move (foam roller, or towel up your spine, knee bent up). Run taller, but not stiffer

Look into getting some proper Pilates type rehab, and running specific stability exercises.

Foam roller ordered and Pilates booked. Hoping I can get moving on the road to recovery. So frustrating when it happens.