Question
hi doctor, i am 21 years old. diagnosed with sciatica and told to do M.R.I. I am basically very athletic and always active type of person. almost involve in all type of sports. but after graduation, i ve got job which involved 11 hours of desk job over pc for 5 days a week. and may be because of that i ve been diagnosed with sciatic nerve pain. firstly there was a little pain in hip before 4 weeks but it slowly aggrevated and proceed to my left leg and i have been on the bed all the time. it is very difficult to get up and walk. my question is can sciatica be treated wholely. and approx how much it will needed ? can i able to play cricket football and running games as i do earlier ? what precaution or what should i do in this stage ?  thank you. help me plz

Answer
Hello,

I agree that an MRI needs to be done to determine if there is a spinal disc issue involved that may be impinging the sciatic nerve. From what you are describing, it sounds like you may have compressed or irritated this nerve in the gluteal/hip area due to prolonged hours of sitting. This is very common in the world today as many people are becoming very sedentary. The key here is to decrease the pain and inflammation first to allow you to proceed to stretches and then exercise. Icing the low back and/or gluteal region for 20-30 minutes 2-3 times per day can help with this as well as taking some light anti-inflammatories. Once the pain levels begin to resolve, proceed to stretches for the gluteal/piriformis muscle. You can find plenty of stretches online for this area. The piriformis muscle is one where the sciatic nerve runs either close to or, in some people, runs directly through the muscle. This makes it highly likely that the nerve can be compressed especially during long sitting hours. Again, I do encourage the MRI to rule out spinal issues. Also make sure you are taking frequent breaks at work from sitting or at least shifting positions. Finally, when u do get home, make sure you are exercising is some fashion. Some walking, bodyweight exercise, etc is essential to counteract a sedentary day. Hope this helps.