RE: [Paddlewise] Sciatica (was shoulder exercises for paddling)

See doc on Monday, so far he's done nada. I do appreciate everyone's advice
so for and more so the practical recommendations. Guys like Craig have way
more past than future but I hate to see them in pain with arthritis. I
remember as a boy watching my dad put his hands in hot wax, while tears
swelled his eyes with the digit pain from the malady. I try and keep my
hands protected while paddling these days. 

This sciatic pain is harder to fathom and seems to affect every part of
life, not just paddling. After Eric Soares died, I've been a bit down though
doing everything I can now, health wise. I remember when I first started
kayaking and the sight of standing waves made me all warm and tingly. Now
just sitting in a yak does that, though a different, not so nice tingly
way...

Chiro has helped my upper back and my migraines are so muted now I'm ready
to declare my Chiro guy a miracle worker, but not so much with the lower
back. He said it was a little funny that I can't keep up with my wife on
walks even though she is full of tumors and has one invading her L4. Of
course, I responded that it was even odder that after 6 weeks of adjustments
I'm even less able to keep up with her now. He had no reply, heh heh.

Doug



Sciatica is caused by an irritation of the sciatic nerve, but the cause of
the irritation can vary. In my case it was caused by a ruptured disc. Two
large fragments came free, and one apparently was pushing against the
sciatic nerve. My back surgeon told me to thank my mother for a large spinal
canal, because the spinal cord itself was not affected. A laminectomy was
the cure. The surgeon went in, removed the fragments, decided the rest of
the disc looked healthy enough, and taped me back together again. I went
into the hospital at 6:00 a.m. and was out by 6:00 p.m. the same day, like a
pair of pants at the cleaners. The scar is two inches long. That was 15
years ago, when I was 52, and I've had no problems since then. 

I believe the standard conservative treatment for less serious causes is bed
rest and back exercises, but your doctor is the one to decide that.

Chuck Holst
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