1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

PMR and Sciatica with Back Pain

Posted by susi451 @susi451, Oct 12, 2021

Hello everyone,
I have been diagnosed with PMR for 2 1/2 years. I am currently on 4 mg of Prednisone and have tried several times to stop. I have gotten down to 1 mg but developed so much moving back pain I had to return to 4 mg. Over the last 9 months, I have suffered with a right leg sciatica pain that gets much worse when I titrate the Prednisone down. When I return to 4 mg, the pain is relieved, although maybe only 75%. I basically treat myself at this point; am waiting for a first time rheumatology appoint in early December. My primary doctor moved about 8 months ago so now just trying to manage myself. I am a retired nurse so am well versed in treatment methodology. I have read a couple of research articles about PMR and sciatica. So I do not feel like I am way off base thinking there is a connection between my sciatica pain and PMR. I am very active-I try to walk at least 2 miles ( split during the day), 7 days a week. Sometimes it is painful but I push myself because anything is better than sitting around. I am 73 years old and need to stay active. I am wondering if others have had sciatica pain with their PMR?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jul 31, 2022
In reply to @donmayoclinic "Yes. I'm 71 and have recently experienced right leg sciatica recently. I took prednisone when first..." + (show)
@donmayoclinic

Yes. I'm 71 and have recently experienced right leg sciatica recently. I took prednisone when first diagnosed with PMR - it helped to resolve the inflammation and resolve the pain in my shoulder, arms, and back. Sciatic pain is new. I'm not taking prednisone at this time.

: - (

Jump to this post

Welcome @donmayoclinic. It sounds like your PMR may be in remission but you now have sciatica pain only in your right leg. You might be interested in reading through the following discussion to see what others have shared:

-- Dealing with Sciatica pain: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sciatica-pain/

Has your doctor suggested any treatment to help with the pain?

REPLY
donmayoclinic | @donmayoclinic | Aug 1, 2022

Hello John

Thank so much for the link.

I've reached out to my rheumatologist and we are going to start with PT.

I so appreciate you sharing this link!

Don

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Aug 1, 2022
In reply to @donmayoclinic "Hello John Thank so much for the link. I've reached out to my rheumatologist and we..." + (show)
@donmayoclinic

Hello John

Thank so much for the link.

I've reached out to my rheumatologist and we are going to start with PT.

I so appreciate you sharing this link!

Don

Jump to this post

Hi Don, Glad to help! Hopefully starting PT will give you some relief. Can you provide an update after your PT sessions?

REPLY
polykendancer | @polykendancer | Aug 19, 2022

I'm 62, former medical lab tech, who has self diagnosed with PMR. Started having bilateral shoulder and hip pain and then stiff neck within the last 10 years. The pain seemed more associated with bursa and tendon attachments...so right at the top of the shoulders and outer hip. The neck stiffness was where the tendons attach to the skull and not deeply felt in the vertebrae, as if some type of nerve pain. It's never a pain like typical muscle fatigue. It pain at junctures which causes an otherwise strong healthy muscle to suddenly feel very weak. After reading all the possibilities of what I could have, I realized by chance that 15mg of Prednisone was like a miracle drug for me. Disabling shoulder pain that had lasted for months was suddenly 100% gone within 12 hours. Hip pain was 100% gone. Neck pain 100% gone all in less than 48 hours, typically 10 to 12 hours. I have read repeatedly all the side effects of Prednisone and take supplements, exercise a lot(I'm a dancer) so I am aware of the risks. I take the least amount to get rid of most of the pain. I go days without taking any until the pain returns. Unfortunately, all the doctors I have encountered only stress the side effects and don't want to prescribe the drug at all. A rheumatologist told me Prednisone was bad and that the doctor who discovered it won a prize, which should have been retracted once side effects were discovered. Not much of a bias there. My primary care doc kept saying with regards to Prednisone..."bad, bad...bad". And yet this is the only treatment for PMR. This is a quality of life issue. Nobody would opt to be chair bound with pain and weakness in shoulders, hips and neck. The side effects are manageable. And are there any long term studies done on older athletes who take prednisone for chronic inflammation? I also have sciatica in my right leg. Pain is centered around sacrum and causes my right foot to feel numb. Stretching helps. Sitting helps. Walking hurts the most...even more than dancing. It could be stenosis, made worse by PMR. So far 15 mg Prednisone per day takes 99% of the sciatica pain away. It's just like a miracle. It goes from pain with every step, like a toothache around the sacrum to ZERO pain and can walk for hours comfortably.

REPLY
2 replies
sharonanng | @sharonanng | Aug 19, 2022

At my request, my Primary gave me a referral to a Physical Therapist, and the exercises prescribed have helped tremendously to reduce my pain and are specifically designed to where I am having pain or movement issues. The exercises take about 1/2 hour and include light weights. An exercise program has made all the difference for me.

REPLY
sharonanng | @sharonanng | Aug 19, 2022
In reply to @polykendancer "I'm 62, former medical lab tech, who has self diagnosed with PMR. Started having bilateral shoulder..." + (show)
@polykendancer

I'm 62, former medical lab tech, who has self diagnosed with PMR. Started having bilateral shoulder and hip pain and then stiff neck within the last 10 years. The pain seemed more associated with bursa and tendon attachments...so right at the top of the shoulders and outer hip. The neck stiffness was where the tendons attach to the skull and not deeply felt in the vertebrae, as if some type of nerve pain. It's never a pain like typical muscle fatigue. It pain at junctures which causes an otherwise strong healthy muscle to suddenly feel very weak. After reading all the possibilities of what I could have, I realized by chance that 15mg of Prednisone was like a miracle drug for me. Disabling shoulder pain that had lasted for months was suddenly 100% gone within 12 hours. Hip pain was 100% gone. Neck pain 100% gone all in less than 48 hours, typically 10 to 12 hours. I have read repeatedly all the side effects of Prednisone and take supplements, exercise a lot(I'm a dancer) so I am aware of the risks. I take the least amount to get rid of most of the pain. I go days without taking any until the pain returns. Unfortunately, all the doctors I have encountered only stress the side effects and don't want to prescribe the drug at all. A rheumatologist told me Prednisone was bad and that the doctor who discovered it won a prize, which should have been retracted once side effects were discovered. Not much of a bias there. My primary care doc kept saying with regards to Prednisone..."bad, bad...bad". And yet this is the only treatment for PMR. This is a quality of life issue. Nobody would opt to be chair bound with pain and weakness in shoulders, hips and neck. The side effects are manageable. And are there any long term studies done on older athletes who take prednisone for chronic inflammation? I also have sciatica in my right leg. Pain is centered around sacrum and causes my right foot to feel numb. Stretching helps. Sitting helps. Walking hurts the most...even more than dancing. It could be stenosis, made worse by PMR. So far 15 mg Prednisone per day takes 99% of the sciatica pain away. It's just like a miracle. It goes from pain with every step, like a toothache around the sacrum to ZERO pain and can walk for hours comfortably.

Jump to this post

Being on prednisone is not the worst thing in the world! Side effects can be managed.

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Aug 19, 2022
In reply to @polykendancer "I'm 62, former medical lab tech, who has self diagnosed with PMR. Started having bilateral shoulder..." + (show)
@polykendancer

I'm 62, former medical lab tech, who has self diagnosed with PMR. Started having bilateral shoulder and hip pain and then stiff neck within the last 10 years. The pain seemed more associated with bursa and tendon attachments...so right at the top of the shoulders and outer hip. The neck stiffness was where the tendons attach to the skull and not deeply felt in the vertebrae, as if some type of nerve pain. It's never a pain like typical muscle fatigue. It pain at junctures which causes an otherwise strong healthy muscle to suddenly feel very weak. After reading all the possibilities of what I could have, I realized by chance that 15mg of Prednisone was like a miracle drug for me. Disabling shoulder pain that had lasted for months was suddenly 100% gone within 12 hours. Hip pain was 100% gone. Neck pain 100% gone all in less than 48 hours, typically 10 to 12 hours. I have read repeatedly all the side effects of Prednisone and take supplements, exercise a lot(I'm a dancer) so I am aware of the risks. I take the least amount to get rid of most of the pain. I go days without taking any until the pain returns. Unfortunately, all the doctors I have encountered only stress the side effects and don't want to prescribe the drug at all. A rheumatologist told me Prednisone was bad and that the doctor who discovered it won a prize, which should have been retracted once side effects were discovered. Not much of a bias there. My primary care doc kept saying with regards to Prednisone..."bad, bad...bad". And yet this is the only treatment for PMR. This is a quality of life issue. Nobody would opt to be chair bound with pain and weakness in shoulders, hips and neck. The side effects are manageable. And are there any long term studies done on older athletes who take prednisone for chronic inflammation? I also have sciatica in my right leg. Pain is centered around sacrum and causes my right foot to feel numb. Stretching helps. Sitting helps. Walking hurts the most...even more than dancing. It could be stenosis, made worse by PMR. So far 15 mg Prednisone per day takes 99% of the sciatica pain away. It's just like a miracle. It goes from pain with every step, like a toothache around the sacrum to ZERO pain and can walk for hours comfortably.

Jump to this post

Welcome @polykendancer, I am fortunate that my primary care doctor got me a referral to a Mayo rheumatologist that diagnosed me with PMR and started me on 20 mg. I did struggle with tapering off the first time I had PMR but the rheumatologist was very supportive and told me to listen to my body and taper as the body allows (3-1/2 years the first time around). It most definitely is a quality of life issue with the prednisone.

You mentioned sciatica pain so thought you might also be interesting in a discussion on Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) -- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/.

It was really helpful for me to keep a daily log when I was first diagnosed. Do you keep a daily pain log along with the amount of prednisone dosage for that day?

REPLY
1 reply
donmayoclinic | @donmayoclinic | Aug 20, 2022
In reply to @johnbishop "Welcome @polykendancer, I am fortunate that my primary care doctor got me a referral to a..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Welcome @polykendancer, I am fortunate that my primary care doctor got me a referral to a Mayo rheumatologist that diagnosed me with PMR and started me on 20 mg. I did struggle with tapering off the first time I had PMR but the rheumatologist was very supportive and told me to listen to my body and taper as the body allows (3-1/2 years the first time around). It most definitely is a quality of life issue with the prednisone.

You mentioned sciatica pain so thought you might also be interesting in a discussion on Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) -- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/.

It was really helpful for me to keep a daily log when I was first diagnosed. Do you keep a daily pain log along with the amount of prednisone dosage for that day?

Jump to this post

Like John, I too, use prednisone and have learned to manage the tapering. And like you, too, polykendancer, as an athlete (I'm 71 yrs now) I find great relief. It has it's risks and needs to be managed, but it is indeed a quality of life issue. My rheumatologist is in favor of it's use and suggests I use it at a level that gets rid of the pain and then slowly taper down (she is even ok with my staying on it longer-term if I can get it under 5mg or under).

REPLY
suetex | @suetex | Aug 20, 2022

Welcome, polykendancer- this is the place for ideas and encouragement. I was a lab tech for 29 years and here is an excercise I "invented". I was plagued by pinched nerves in my neck and spent the summer going to a chiropractor until I figured it out. As other techs came down with the problem I showed them how to do it. Using a chinning bar or a low hanging limb on a tree, grab with both hands with your palms facing away from your body. Not the "chinning position. Just sag with as much of your weight as you can manage. The idea is to stretch, no contacting of any kind. Eventually, you will work up to all of your weight, and then putting your head back and arching your back. Do this often and consistantly. I have done this for 40 yrs but had to stop when my shoulder was dislocated severely with loss of tendon connections. I really miss it. It will help your upper body.

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