“How to manage a pinched nerve in your leg when you can't see you chiropractor?”

Stretching

HAPPY THANKFUL THURSDAY, I’m Dr Jeff Jenkins DC in San Jose California,

So sorry you’re hurting, Sciatica is a challenge. I have a 5-minute video on YouTube where I teach how to manage Sciatica. It’s video #2 on TIP OF THE DAY WITH DR J. Lay on the floor near a wall, bend your right knee to put your right foot flat on wall, cross your left ankle over the right knee. That tightness you feel, deep to the Gluteus Maximus, the big butt muscle, is called the PIRIFORMIS, and the Sciatic Nerve runs just deep to the PIRIFORMIS, so stretch this muscle EVERY DAY UNTIL YOU’RE 100. Both sides, take 3 EASY BREATHS...on weaker side (pain), hold for 4-5 easy breaths, work with positioning as what gives you maximum stretch that feels good to you.
Best to you, and LIFE IS SHORT AND VALUABLE!!! FOLLOW YOUR BLISS, and enjoy every moment.

The only tangible relief that you can experience is by performing region specific exercises and stretches relative to the area in question. In this case, this gentleman appears to have been experiencing radiculitis in his lower extremity. The question I would need to entertain prior to providing any type home treatment recommendations is he experiencing unilateral or bilateral symptoms. This is a very important piece of information because it would allow me to discern if this gentleman is either having a central vs a peripheral lesion or nerve entrapment. Of course, the unilateral symptoms will lead one to think that it is a peripheral entrapment (i.e., Piriformis Syndrome, Meralgia Paresthetica, etc...) whereas the bilateral symptoms will lead one to think of a central nerve irritation (i.e., > 3mm Posterior lumbar disc protrusion, spinal stenosis, etc...).

The importance of understanding this piece of information is because providing home recommendations for one vs the other are totally different set of treatment protocols.

All of this and more information would have to be to attained during the history and physical examination portion of the doctor-patient encounter. Before providing any sound treatment recommendations, I need to ask the patient a set of very specific questions before giving him my recommendations.

You can still get good advice with Telemedicine

If you absolutely can’t go to see them, I’d look on YouTube for ‘specific exercises for a pinched nerve in my leg.’ It obviously depends on where the nerve is pinched, but if it’s a sciatica-type punching where it starts in your low back/butt area then type in ‘how to relieve sciatica.’

I would recommend calling your Chiropractor and asking if they have any specific exercises or stretches that would be best for you. If they are not available I would do a YouTube search for videos of "at home fix for pinched nerve in leg"