[maryshady]

Has anyone experienced this before? I have been having trouble all thru the summer but the last 2 weeks I have been in agony. I went to dr.'s and he wants me to do phys therapy and stretching. My ? is...did you workout while in pain? If I continue to workout will it get worse? Hate to keep missing workouts.

[thistime140]

Bothered with it for years....the only thing I find that works is stretching alot before, sometimes during, and after exercise!! Somedays are worse then others. I try to avoid anything where I lift my knees too high (like stair masters) but yeah...had it for about 10 years. there is one stretch that seems to help the most. it's hard to describe. I can try, but it is possibly one your Dr reccommended already...

[LiL PiXiE]

I work at an ortho office...I suggest you go trough with physical therapy and take it easy...you can always walk, but don't over do yourself. Hopefully PT will help you. Hope you get better!!

[lauralyn]

I am dealing with it right now and I have a hard time doing more than walking. Once I am up and have stretched a bit I do ok but anything more than walking can really aggravate it for me.

[CJZee]

About 20 years ago, I had sciatica so bad I could not ride in a car or sit for more than (literally!)6 minutes. The pain was excruciating. If I was at work in a meeting, I had to pace because I couldn't sit or stand without moving.

What saved me was a chiropractor. He was able to relieve the pressure on the sciatic nerve by manipulating my back. It took several sessions but OMG it was so worth it. I don't think just "stretching" could ever do it.

[KDuffer]

I suffer from it. It bothers me but not enough that I can't function so I just work through it. Lots of stretch of the upper hip/thigh area. Plus I noticed changing my running form helps (try not to pronate so much much on each step).

Also, seems like generally things like running, biking, eliptical makes it worse, so I tend to do more weight training now.

[iaradajnos]

I just got out of the ER with what the doctor there thought was sciatic nerve and severe muscle cramping. I'm living off muscle relaxers and pain relievers now.

I've been seeing doctors, physical therapists, massage therapists for about six years because we thought it was a minor arthritis point that was just intolerably painful when I over did exercise. Now, I'm not sure. My left hip is the point of pain. Since the hospital, I've had a partially numb foot and it's a little colder than rest of leg. I've an appt tomorrow.

Anyway, I think it's because I did all of the wrong things in too close of a span of time: long-distance travel, increased a new exercise, tried running (on concrete), slept on an air mattress, carried heavy bags, and got stressed out. Funny thing was the ER people basically abandoned me once I told them it might be an exasperated condition because of too much exercise. Literally, they never came back to find out if I was improving from the meds and just sent a nurse in to discharge me. My husband had to carry me out.

I've had very painful knees for the past two years and this was my biggest motivator to exercise--the pain. I was careful, methodical, and moderate. As I lost weight and pain reduced, I was able to increase frequencies of exercise. I have a reputation of doing too much. So, I have to be careful always of being moderate.

There are lots of exercises that are careful on joints and are low-impact. Personally, I've lost most of my weight and want to now get a personal trainer for a few sessions (can't afford more than that) to make sure I have the proper form for my particular needs. I'll go back every six months to retune and make sure I'm on track.

I read an article after I had been thinking that I should change up my workouts every season to focus on different goals. The article said it is often a strategy for full-time athletes to switch plans every month/season. So, I'll try to have three or four seasonal changes to build: endurance, strength, upper and lower body while always continuously maintaining my core.

[getfitchicks]

I workout through my pain, but that isn't always the right answer. You need to listen to your body and know the difference between "good" and "manageable" pain and something that can do lasting damage - it takes time to figure out the difference!

Consult your dr. and physio for advice on how much exercise to do - they should be able to give you some direction.