Possible S3 nerve damage

Hello @gravey, and welcome to Connect. Thank you for posting your question about S3 nerve pain in the Chronic Pain group. From my brief research, am I understanding it correctly that S3 nerve pain is related to the sacrum, and in turn could be considered sciatic pain?

If so, I would like to invite some other members who have discussed sciatic pain on Connect previously. I would like to invite @19lin, @gailb, @cheris, @IndianaScott, @reneewise50, and @lowth21, who have all discussed having sciatic pain and ways to deal with it.

@gravey, if your physician thinks it may be an S3 nerve issue, has he or she taken any steps to help with this new diagnosis?

They have ruled out sciatica, as I have never had any radiating pain down my leg, PT is treating me for piriformis muscle, but I have been going a while without much success, so they are starting to consider the S3 nerve, which is one of the nerves that comes out of the sacrum and ties in to the sciatic nerve at some point. I am just interested in if anyone has ever been diagnosed with a S3 nerve issue unrelated to sciatica.

Hi gravey. I do have sciatic pain due to a herniated and slipped disc. Everthing I read about the S3 nerve indicates it is a part of the sciatic nerve, it's just rooted in a different area. I have had constant pain in my L5-S1 and L4 for the past year. Currently I am taking Baclofen for muscle spasms, Tramadol for pain, and 300 mg twice a day of Gabapentin for nerve pain. I don't think the Gabapentin is helping and I'm going to ask my pain doctor to help me withdraw from it. The thing that is helping me most is physical therapy.

A little history here: I am 68 years old and have had back problems since I was a teenager. Of course I ignored the pain at the time. Then in my 40's I had a few rather strong episodes with pain and started seeing a chiropractor when I had pain. Chiropractic became a regular part of my back care. In my late 50's I began having acute back pain that put me in a wheelchair when it occurred. I still didn't stop anything I was doing, nor did I take pain medication even though I really needed it. I was determined to get better. Then 5 years ago while I was painting our house interior, my back "went out." I couldn't do anything and nothing gave me relief. Everything hurt and no position relieved it. I got a massage, and finally had relief from the acute pain . . . until I got off the table. The pain was instantly back. My physician convinced me to get an MRI and I did. I found out I had 4 disks that were "bulging." I told him, no surgery. As soon as my back stabilized, 4 months later, I joined a Restorative Yoga class.

I stayed in Restorative Yoga class eventually going 3 days a week. It was great and I loved Yoga. I felt good and my back was good during that 3 years. Then, I moved to California for a job, and didn't find a Yoga program right away. The job didn't work out, so my husband and I moved to southern California to live with our daughter and help with the grandchildren. Last year I was cutting roses in the raised bed garden, bent in an odd way, and my back suddenly got extremely tired. I stopped cutting roses at that point, but the damage was done. My right buttock and leg have been in pain since. Again, I didn't stop doing anything, and after 6 weeks of traveling to Costa Rica and Panama lugging around my bags, I accepted a consulting job when I returned home at the beginning of September, 2016. The job required traveling back and forth from home in California to Denver every weekend. It was exhausting for me. My back was hurting worse each week, but I kept going. One Saturday in November, I reached down to pat the kitty, and I couldn't stand up for awhile. I was having acute pain, but I still got on the airplane on Sunday and flew to Denver. When I arrived I had to get a wheelchair and service worker to push me to the bus to rent a car. I can hardly believe that I went to work on Monday and couldn't walk up the steps. I worked all day, went to a chiropractor that night, and worked on Tuesday even though I couldn't walk without constant back spasms. I was taking Tylenol for pain, which wasn't working (duh). I saw the chiropractor again that night. Then Wednesday morning, I couldn't get out of bed, and my boss very kindly and wisely told me I should go home. I packed two large suitcases and barely made it to the Uber car, used wheelchairs at the airports, and made it home. I saw my back doctor the next day, had another MRI, and they found serious problems with my L5-S1 that required surgery. Out-patient surgery took place on December 22, 2016. I still have my L4 to deal with and my right side still has pain.

This is a long way to say, I should have continued Yoga after I moved to California! As soon as I have permission I will find a Yoga program around my home and go again. I am currently in Physical Therapy and it is helping now after 4 weeks. I am building my core muscles again. I think the PT and Yoga are the best ways to deal with back and nerve pain. I'm hoping to avoid surgery for my L4 because it will mean metal rods and screws and probably continued pain. My best advice to you is to ask your spine doctor if you can do PT or Yoga to build your core muscles and general physical health. Yoga has the additional benefit of meditation and stress relief, helping relieve depression that is caused by your physical condition. If your depression isn't better, or is getting worse, ask your doctor for an antidepressant. I take Citalopram now, and after titrating to the full dose, I have had no problems with it. I began feeling better after abou 3 weeks on it. I recommend it. I hope you find some relief. Gail B

I had that pain following TKR. I had a few sessions of PT with electrical stimulation and heat. I then had an SI joint injection and feeling much better. Not sure if this helps.

Thank you for replying to my post. I did not respond immediately as I was fortunate to obtain a referral to a top Neurosurgeon who also teaches neurosurgery at university. I was very interested in your response as regards "inflammation of the sacro-iliac joint". I read the results of my pelvis MRI which stated "No accute sacroilitis is demonstrated". I spoke to the neuro surgeon and he has ruled that out at this stage.
My Nurosurgeon has now ordered a new MRI from a new MRI machine which apparently provided a much clearer picture of the nerves. He has ordered:
- MRI - whole spine and GAD
-MRI of the pelvis
-MRN of the sacral neurography PLUS
-Nerve Conduction test of LL inc Perineal
The surgeon mentioned he has been involved in some research of PFCN (involvement of the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve (PFCN), including its perineal and inferior cluneal branches to the symptom of “sitting pain.) which he believes "could" be a cause of my pain possible caused by the epidural durin my prostatecomy some 4 years ago.
I will continue to post here when I get further results.
Thank you so much for your reply to my post
John

I too am new this site & I am also having a sharp pain in my right buttock, up to my lower back & down my leg all the ways to the toes on my right leg. It's getting so I can't walk anymore & sitting, standing, walking are all just too much for me. I've been under a Chiropractors care but that doesn't seem to be helping. I have had CT scans done & no one can seem to find the problem. There are times when my back gives out & I have to walk slumped over. I have many other medical maladies that I am dealing with but even though I've never injured myself that I know of. It just started one day & has gotten consistently worse.  I've had this problem for years no one knows where it came from or what to do with it.If you find out anything would you be so kind as to let me know. Thank you...Diane Shore<br>

Hi Diane. Thank you for your reply. I can certainly sympathise with you as I have trouble sitting for very long. The neree pain/burning down the back of my thighs is the worst when sitting.
I have discovered a Roho wheelchair cushion which has really helped me., My cushion/s are low profile 16" X 16". Google them. They might help.
John

Hello, I'm new to this site. I am happy to see that there are others that know first hand what I am experiencing. I received a TB test injection in my left forearm back in February which for some strange reason triggered my S3 pain immediately to my left buttocks. It was as if I took the injection in my cheek. My left buttocks got really hard and swollen. It felt weird walking for a long time. The hardness in my cheek went away, but my left cheek is a little bigger than my right. I still have pain sitting only in my left cheek. This is so bizarre.

Hello @cheek2cheek, welcome to Connect. While we wait for others to jump back in to the conversation, I just wanted to say that your symptoms do indeed seem strange. Did you mention this to the person who administered your TB test or checked your TB test?

I did and she shared with me that she never heard of such reaction and that I should see my doctor. The previous year I had another TB injection in my right forearm and I felt a sting in my right hip while I received the injection and a little discomfort in right hip especially while walking back to my car. Those symptoms went away in 1hour. I have to have an annual TB injection because I work in a hospital. This past February was my last injection that I intend to take. I have always felt something or noticed a change in my body after the injection and the February was by far the worst. I am prior military and received multiple shots during my service and I never had any issues.