Surprising news from Ortho Doc – BionicOldGuy

I saw my new orthopedic doctor for the first time today (my previous one had retired). I had a new surprise: I have sciatica from my back (not the hip, like the piriformis muscle). An MRI of my back shows a bulging lumbar disc and spinal stenosis, right where the sciatic nerve exits on the left side. The condition is moderate so under normal conditions the nerve is not compressed. But anything that inflames the disc can compress the disc and cause sciatica. This explains why I had my first symptoms of sciatica after exercising too strenuously about a month ago. Then it calmed down after a couple of weeks, and I brought it back with more exercise. It also explains why the PT exercises I have been doing, which are for both the piriformis muscle and the SI joint, are not working as well as in the past because they are not directed directly to the lumbar spine. For now he is going to start me on a course of prednisone, which he thinks will do the trick because the sciatica has already calmed down a lot. I am allowed to exercise, including bike riding and PT exercises, as long as there is no sign of sciatica. I will start to add more intensity and back off as needed. I will also look into PT exercises specifically for the lumbar area there is a good reference here). I would like to build muscles in this area, so it is less fragile in the future.