My general practitioner physician for 4 months said I had a hamstring pull giving me leg pain! He was so wrong, now I need a new GP! My pain physician sent me for an MRI results states, I have an annular protrusion 4 mm in size projecting into the proximal left neural foramen. This abuts the left L3 root. This in giving me left leg sciatic pain! I have tried physical therapy and doing the exercises, the leg pain improved for a short time and now is back. My pain physician can give me an epidural with sedation but I'm not sure what I want to do. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks, Jackie

Hi ~ epidural injections MIGHT give you some relief, but they don't last long. Also, MANY people don't get any results from them at all. If you DO decide to have the injection, make sure that if the FIRST one doesn't work, you don't let your doc do any more of them. They do NOT build up in the system, and the 2nd one won't work if the first one didn't. And steroids aren't great for the body anyway, plus anything injected into the epidural space leaves one open for other problems.

The physical therapy, you have to keep doing the exercises faithfully, or the sciatica will come back. If the nerve isn't completely healed, the pain won't STAY gone, plus once you've had sciatica, it's easier to get it again. There are other ways of getting sciatica besides spinal problems --- stuff like injuries, i.e. a fall, or a car wreck; plus there are a bunch more.

For immediate relief you can use ice for 20 minutes every 2 hours. At first it hurts worse, but after you leave it on for a few minutes, it feels much better. It helps to reduce the inflammation & swelling, plus numbs the pain.

I wish you the best of luck. I've had sciatica for so many years that I can't count anymore. LOL Take care & God bless. Hugs, Lee