My Battle With Sciatica
Last year I started getting sciatic pain. Here's how it's going.
It's said that good things come with age, and I agree for the most part. But one thing that I've yet to get used to is the random aches and pains that seem to pop up.
In my youth I was always participating in athletic endeavors. Whether for sports teams or just for fun, hard exercise has always been an integral part of my life experience. But when I hit my mid-30s, I started to get little nagging injuries that always took some time to shake. So much so that I ultimately have had to make tough decisions for my health, like ending BJJ training.
Those injuries have largely gotten better. Not completely gone, but pretty much unnoticeable in my day-to-day life. However, I can't say the same for this new hurdle.
Getting Sciatica
If you're not familiar with sciatica, it refers to the pain that can come from impingement of the sciatic nerve. In simple terms, this runs down the back of the leg and all the way to the foot. The pain is almost like a tightening or cramping of the muscles. It feels like you want to stretch it but stretching does nothing for it.
I'm not even sure how I started to aggravate the nerve, but I first noticed symptoms after Lorena and I went to the beach in the fall of 2025. I remember running in the sand that day. The next day, I had that tight feeling. I had no idea what it was, so I asked my physical therapist to work on it a bit. After a few sessions, it went away.
In 2026, it got worse.
Looking back, I didn't realize what exactly was causing my pain, so I just kept living my life as usual. This put extra stress on my sciatic nerve and the impingement area (my lower back around the SI joint and right hip).
It got so bad that I needed to stop all extra activities (including my daily walks) to focus on rehab. I strengthened my hamstrings and glutes which helped a ton. After six weeks or so, I was pain-free.
Flare Up At The Worst Time
I was doing good up until our daughter was born. It was literally the worst it had ever been. I was in so much pain that I needed to sit down after only a few minutes of standing. However, I couldn't because I was helping Lorena during and after labor.
Our baby girl arrived and my focus was purely on her and Lorena's health. I put aside my needs because I, quite frankly, didn't have an opportunity to address it. This just added stress to an already stressful situation trying to adjust to life with a newborn.
I took a lot of Advil during that time. I also had my physical therapist do a few house calls to work on the impingement. My focus was on my family, and as a result, I didn't go for my walks or workout at all. Time, it appears, is quite helpful in healing.
The Plan Moving Forward
I feel a lot better now in that I don't have the sciatic pain. That's what two months of rest will do. However, I know that it wouldn't take much to aggravate it again, so I've been just being extremely cautious in my daily activites.
I need to start strengthening exercises again. This past week, I've started to do this on my own, but I think soon I'll begin to start up PT again on a regular two or three-times-a-week basis. This helped me immensely earlier in the year.
Quite frankly, it sucks to feel like my body is “breaking down” in certain ways that I never could imagine. But, at the end of the day, I'm fortunate that this is completely manageable with lifestyle changes. Not everyone is so lucky.
For now, my goal is to feel strong and to be doing a bit more in terms of exercise by the end of the year.
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