Tips for flight with sciatica or back pain

[tapley]

Originally Posted by macy

Has anyone managed flights successfully - whilst suffering sciatica or back pain. In particular in relation to discomfort whilst sitting ? Did you find the crew understanding if you needed to stand up regularly.
We will be travelling soon and DH is experiencing discomfort with sciatica. Would be helpful if anyone has any tips from past experience. I'm in two minds about cancelling altogether. Thanks in advance of any info.

See more...

I was in that position sometime ago prior to a flight to Orlando. I had a full physio session the day before driving from Devon to Gatwick and just took a paracetamol and an Ibuprofen tablet just prior to the flight. It was fine fortunately perhaps I was lucky but hope it works for your DH

[macy]

Originally Posted by tapley

I was in that position sometime ago prior to a flight to Orlando. I had a full physio session the day before driving from Devon to Gatwick and just took a paracetamol and an Ibuprofen tablet just prior to the flight. It was fine fortunately perhaps I was lucky but hope it works for your DH

See more...

Thank you - we are all hoping he can manage to travel. He has stronger medication prescribed now, just have to hope it clicks in for Monday. I have airport assistance arranged for him, he will find it strange as he is usually the fittest one. It has certainly opened my eyes to how bad these things can be.

[JellyEllieBean]

Really hope your hubby starts to feel a bit better by Monday and the flight isn’t too painful xx

[jazzmic]

must agree with thor 1 those simple exercisers are a godsend I do them few times a day for 5 minutes, even when I don't have pain, I have not had sciatica for 5 years now and definitely don't want it back hope your dh recovers soon

janie

[Jo 77]

Originally Posted by scojos

i have sponylosis so feel your pain.
can i suggest you invest in an actipatch? its a small loop system that you attach to skin and it "blocks" the messages to brain similar to a TENS machine but it doesnt hurt like a tens.
i love mine and for £20 from boots might be worth a punt.
other than that CBD balm from holland and barrett is amazing stuff... icy gel from pound shop and tiger balm etc.
GPs can also give capsicum cream which heats on contact with skin and is a god send and an amazing invention lol.

there s not much i havent tried tbf. xx

See more...

I can highly recommend the actipatch too, the results for such a simple thing are amazing!

I have had 3 discs which caused nerve pain while they were on their way out but now they've completely gone, I thankfully don't get it. I still take daily painkillers but the actipatch has made such an improvement.

[macy]

Originally Posted by JellyEllieBean

Really hope your hubby starts to feel a bit better by Monday and the flight isn’t too painful xx

See more...

I'm hoping so too, thanks for the good wishes. We will see if a physio session tomorrow can help.

[macy]

Originally Posted by jazzmic

must agree with thor 1 those simple exercisers are a godsend I do them few times a day for 5 minutes, even when I don't have pain, I have not had sciatica for 5 years now and definitely don't want it back hope your dh recovers soon

janie

See more...

Thank you for that tip, there is a theme from almost everyone who has back pain experience. 5 years is a long time to have to deal with this on a daily basis, I hope you don't have to suffer it again. Keeping the daily exercises going might be the lifesaver for you , fingers crossed it is.

[macy]

Originally Posted by Jo 77

I can highly recommend the actipatch too, the results for such a simple thing are amazing!

I have had 3 discs which caused nerve pain while they were on their way out but now they've completely gone, I thankfully don't get it. I still take daily painkillers but the actipatch has made such an improvement.

See more...

I did read an ad about the Actipatch and thought it sounded too good to be true. It's different when you hear from people with real life experience of using them suggesting they are good and not a gimmick. I'll look in Boot's today and certainly get him to give it a try. Thank you so much , 3 discs - must have been a dreadful time for you. You must be relieved that the constant pain has eased , did you suffer from pins and needles down the leg ? that seems to be the thing that even medication doesn't stop.

[scojos]

Originally Posted by macy

I did read an ad about the Actipatch and thought it sounded too good to be true. It's different when you hear from people with real life experience of using them suggesting they are good and not a gimmick. I'll look in Boot's today and certainly get him to give it a try. Thank you so much , 3 discs - must have been a dreadful time for you. You must be relieved that the constant pain has eased , did you suffer from pins and needles down the leg ? that seems to be the thing that even medication doesn't stop.

See more...

It takes a few days before its at mac effect but u can sleep with it on.

[Jo 77]

Originally Posted by macy

I did read an ad about the Actipatch and thought it sounded too good to be true. It's different when you hear from people with real life experience of using them suggesting they are good and not a gimmick. I'll look in Boot's today and certainly get him to give it a try. Thank you so much , 3 discs - must have been a dreadful time for you. You must be relieved that the constant pain has eased , did you suffer from pins and needles down the leg ? that seems to be the thing that even medication doesn't stop.

See more...

I first saw about the actipatch on an advert on Facebook so was instantly dismissive but when I read the reviews, they were so positive it was worth a go. I initially bought the trial one which lasts a week as it was only £5 so I thought for that price it was worth it. I think it is now about £8. The first day of using it, I noticed a massive improvement and managed to walk further than I had in about 2 years. I was very aware of the placebo effect but the benefits have just continued.
The key thing especially initially is to wear it constantly. I wore it for 24 hours a day for quite a while (by buying a monthly one too) and now I put it on in the morning and take it off when I go to bed as thankfully my sleep is not disturbed.
I don't use the velcro band that the 720 hour one comes with, I just use 4 bits of micropore to position it. I also wear it backwards as I'm allergic to nickel etc and the little bit of metal was causing a reaction and I got a terrible rash but it says it works both ways and it certainly does.
I've been using one for about 4 years now and I wouldn't be without it. I am still on painkillers and I have had nerve block injections (a long time after using the actipatch though) but I wouldn't be without it now. Some days I get distracted doing things before I have a shower and therefore don't have it on and I certainly notice the difference.
I cannot recommend it enough, just remember to persevere. I had pretty instant results but I don't think this is usually the case. If you try a trial one first, you should notice some difference by the end of the week.
I didn't really have pins and needles in my leg, just sharp pains going down my leg from where the disc was pushing on the nerve but this has now stopped since the disc has completely gone. The only pain I have now is in my back so wear the patch in pretty much the same place every day although you can wear more than one.
Sorry, just realised I'm talking as if it's you! Hope things improve for your husband X
P.s I wore the actipatch for the whole flight and although I wasn't at my worst at the time, I was pretty comfortable and will be wearing one again this year