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I was cycling reguarly and started to have Baaaadddd pain on my left butt cheek and down my left leg. Went to my chriopractor - she has started treatment and it has eased off some. Go back Friday to get another adjustment. She said I had classic sciatic nerve inflammation. What I am asking you guys - have you experienced this and when did you get back on the bike after being treated?
Yep; I had very similar pain. Here's the stretch I did that helped immensely. Lay on the floor on your back. Bend your knees with your feet on the floor. Then cross one leg over the the other. Lower your legs to one side until you feel the stretch. Hold it as needed. With your legs still crossed, lower your legs to the other side. Hold as needed. Uncross your legs and then cross them with the other leg now on top. Repeat all of the above.
I did this before, during and after rides as needed. The stretch actually resoleved my pain rather quickly.
Hope that helps.
That stretch. And Pilates. Good Pilates, not junk Pilates. Lots of threads on this same issue.
Your symptoms are exactly what I had...was dx with Lumbar 5 herniated disc and a rotated pelvis. Pilates was good for me but did not resolve the underlying issue.
A good PT would start you out with a basic set of exerc. There is no way I can describe them properly but I think I recall some of the names.
Nerve Glide (gas pedal movement)
Back Extension push ups (prone, push up onto elbows, hold 10sec, down repeat)
Piriformis stretch
Pelvis tilt
Supermans on an exerc ball
Psoas stretch
See your Physical Therapist.
A good chiro will figure out what caused the sciatic inflammation in the first place. They will address the underlying cause. (Sciatica is always a symptom of something else. The nerves don't just spontaneously inflame. Something inflames them.) A good chiro will teach you how to fix it yourself once they have gotten you started.
Tell your chiro you are interested in self-management. Ask her to check your posture and positioning on the bike. If she doesn't know bike fit, ask her to recommend a fitter or PT she likes to work with.
+1 on getting your fit checked.
I've gotten sciatica from running in the past, so far cycling has not made it flare up. But my lower back started to feel stiff at the end rides last year, and I started to have metatarsal pain, so I got my fit checked at the beginning of this season. Turned out one of my cleats had slipped out of place, so it was affecting my alignment on the bike.
One thing that helped me on the bike was to slide my saddle about 1cm forward.
Make sure you are not pedaling with the angle of your hips too "closed"
(bars too low,bars too far away from saddle, saddle too far back)
Be sure to consider non-cycling issues, like posture and work setup. My chiro (who is also a PT) helped me figure out what was causing the issues. In my case, it was poor ergonomics at work, bad shoes, poor posture, weak core, too much driving, and a whole lot of personal and work stress. I've been able to address all those things, but it still flares up if I get lazy or stressed (or wear clogs).