Spinal steroid injection for lumbar herniated discs

How long did you experience sciatica before it went away on its own? Did you do any specific exercises to help alleviate the pain!

Just saw the post from @gravity3 which was essentially the same as mine.
I am looking to see if there are any individuals who have had sciatica for a long time. Mine has been on and off for years but now fairly constant. Are there any specific exercises that helped to alleviate the pain? At least for a while? Thanks for any advice.

I had herniated discs and developing (so far) a mild case of sciatica which often goes along with the pain of herniated discs. I want to nip this in the bud as I remember having an awful case of sciatica years ago which I believe lasted close to one year.
Right now I am using heat to the area, going to PT and doing just short walks on my treadmill. Cold applied to the area can also be helpful - find out which is better for you.
As far as exercises, there are lots you can do and actually MUST do to help alleviate the pain. They are really simple stretches. Google sciatica and lots will pop up including pictures of exercises. Start out slow but keep it up. Consistency is the key. And remember, anyone with back pain or a history of back pain really must do back exercises the rest of their life to avoid episodes. Once stabilized, just a few a day is good...you can even do them upon awakening in bed. Good luck.

Sounds doable. There are so many exercises on the internet that I was trying to narrow down the list. Maybe there isn’t one exercise that is better than another; what works for some may not for others. Thanks for your input. The biggest takeaway for me is having to continue the exercises every day from now on. Not an easy task but I will try to be consistent.

I just googled this morning - the top 5 exercises for sciatica. Very simple ones came up.
And you are certainly a candidate for PT - get a referral from your PCP and you can get a personalized treatment plan once you are evaluated at physical therapy.
The back can give us so much trouble. Believe me the key is daily, simple exercises...you don't have to do a lot and, as I already said, some can be done right in bed when you wake up.
Yes, it's all doable 🙂

Thank you @briarrose and @gravity3 for your helpful responses to my query on best sciatica exercises.
The ones that can be done in bed may be the easiest way to develop a regular routine so I will start there.

A massage therapist has been working on me for 2.5 years trying to loosen my entire body. She said absolutely not PT because I was stiff like a board She was trying to focus in cranial sacral BUT I had C23 and C56 bilateral nerve blocks. Everything is better. She was in awe of the difference in my body. I feel so much better, YAY! Thank you

I forgot to say it's facet joint problems with my entire neck

I have had success years ago with injections in my spine cervical) but about 2-3 years ago had severe pain in my spine. X-rays & mrus showed herniated thoracic, lumbar and lower spine disks. After a couple of injections a had no success in pain relief. PT made the pain worse. I now started a 28 day series of exercises from a book on “chair yoga”. T here are drawings to follow with instructions. I made the mistake of doing one exercise ( there are about 3 each days) where you hold the back of the chair nd alternately stretch your head up while stretching your leg behind you. I forgot I had been told to never do that ( this was years ago, by a DO. So for 2 days after I’ve had severe sciatic pain in one leg. I’m going to continue these exercises keeping in mind not to bend that way! You might try some of these gentle stretches.