Diagnosing Sciatica in Philippines
Paying a doctor 10 dollars per conversation here in the Philippines has convinced me that Medical Tourism is a great idea if you are already coming on vacation to the Philippine. It would be hard to justify a trip here just to talk to a Filipino Doctor. I think if you have already been diagnosed in the USA or Europe, then coming here to have expensive medical treatment is also a good idea. Then again, the Doctors in Thailand or Panama may be able to do treatment better, but not able to diagnose..
Hehehe confusion is great, something about the genetic pool.
Hmm, I think talking to 5-10 doctors makes sense to a few people, a great way to be confused and dangerous to many people.
Well, Sciatica is a sharp nerve pain that goes shooting that goes down your leg and stops a person from walking normal.
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Bauang or San Fernando, Philippines
La Union Province
Southeast Asia
Sunday, August 16, 2009 Bauang, Philippines Hotels
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As best I understand today, a person can have two types of Sciatic nerve problems.
1. One is caused because a disc in the spine is pushing against the spinal column.
2. The second is caused because the Piriformis muscle is squeezing the nerve.
I paid about 180 dollars to have a MRI done here in the Lorma Hospital in San Fernando, La Union. The MRI says I have a bulge that is pushing against my nerve, so I do have a spinal column problem.
However, one of the orthopedic doctors in Lorma Hospital says,
“If you can do all these movements, then you do not have spinal problem, the person with true spinal problems cannot do that.”
JD a friend from Baguio sent me this link on Piriformis syndrome. Piriformis syndrome. JD I think has pointed me at the solution.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Hmm, this is a trip to confusion, then I learn the bottom line, at the end of the day whether I have a disc problem or this piriformis muscle problem, the solutions are about he the same, the doctors pointed me at a Physical Therapist. I have pointed myself at many YouTube Videos… hehehe and will also do the Physical Therapy at the Lorma Hospital proving the women therapist is friendly and pretty.
(I am going to find a Chiropractor also, I hope… 500 Pesos per trip, this 2000 for Motley is a lot of cash.)
Education to some people is hazardous to their health, then for some people it can save their life.
This is truly a confusing subject, but I think the bottom line is this, you may just want to skip to the solutions if you have shooting pain that does down one of your legs.
SOLUTONS to PAIN
Call is what you want, there is the solution somewhere here, short of paying to have surgery, this is where I am starting.
ONE
You need to stretch both your spinal column and your piriformis muscle.
TWO
Then you need to exercise your Gluteus medius muscle, and think Sciatic nerve, be the nerve.
I am sure I need to exercise many muscles, but this seems to the priority number one muscle to point at.
If you have a shooting pain in your leg, first watch this video, then click below and then maybe click on this link with a collection of many videos.
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VIDEO BELOW
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If you not see a video here it is because you are reading by email, click here to see video.
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VIDEO ABOVE
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When I have a problem, I do read a lot, research and start making Internet pages that outlines the problem. By making outlining the problems I learn, I use the process of writing to educate myself.
Thanks for posting my video! Good luck in getting better soon!
lynnie said on Saturday August 15th, 2009 05:12:06 PM
hi andy, firstly, sorry to here about your back problem but interesting also. i have had two spinal operations but still have the pain. i was taken aback to read of piriformis syndrone. ive never heard of it and its never been mentioned to me or suggested by doctors after 6 years of my back problems.so thankyou for this information, not something i thought i would be picking up from following your travels!......and andy ...another photo of you on your blog!! two now in as many weeks! what does this all mean??
St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City, just outside of Manila has treated me well for years.
Last year, while surfing off of Samar Island, I went over-the-falls and came down hard on my back and lower neck. The reef rash was pretty bad, but the tingling and numbness in my arms was what I was worried about. I got on a plane to Manila, and was at St. Luke’s six hours later. A neurologist ordered an MRI and other tests, and two other neurologists also evaluated the results. The cost was either $209 or $219 in pesos, including overnight.
Considering just signing your John Hancock on an ER admission form at Clarian or Community in Indianapolis will be $500+ …before any other treatment is done, I feel fortunate to have had such terrific healthcare without waiting for hours in an ER like some places I have been in IN over the years, and at an affordable price.
There are at least eight neurologists on the campus, and others associated with St. Luke’s. You might want to consult them.
While Bumrungrad may be a better option for someone who has a loved one who is a Thai clinical pharmacologist. I found the doctor who treated me there to have very poor English skills. I had a moderate Staph infection on my knee. His antibiotic regime seemed to be reasonable to me, but I would have liked to have a better discussion with him about other treatment options, and aftercare. Also I find their pricing structure is higher at Bumrungrad than either St. Luke’s or MMC.
Perhaps the horse has already left the barn, but maybe wearing a back brace or support might help prevent further damage and antagonism on you CNS? What about putting your gear on rollers?
Best health,
Vic
P.S. There are quite a few DAVs and retirees around Subic/Angeles, check out the VFWs and RAOs for spinal treatment options with guys who live there.
I would not call this affordable, it is affordable to a person from the USA, however not affordable to the people who live in the Philippines.
I am an extremely wealthy and rich man in the Philippines.
I cannot afford medical treatment in my own country, the USA.
We are entering an age of global economics which will probably turn rich countries into poor countries, and poor countries into rich. Truly the price of medical care in the developed world is overpriced.
Hi Andy. Sorry to hear about your back problems. I have had several surgeries myself, and actually got worse. Now they want me to do it again, no way.
Many people have found relief with the DRX9000. Not sure if it is available overseas, but if you google DRX9000, you can find lots of info and videos. This does the stretching thing you are talking about.
Hope you get it fixed soon and can walk pain free!
fruugal said on Sunday August 16th, 2009 11:35:13 AM
Andy, I had pain in my spine from nerve pressure. A Physical Therapist I worked with showed me how to use the door frame or any door opening to stretch my spine to help relieve the pressure. After a week of this stretching my pain was much relieved.
I hope the stretching helps you too!
Bob L said on Monday August 17th, 2009 06:28:46 AM
I had issues with leg pain etc similar to what you describe. No back pain though. This started after getting a cramp in what I later found out was the piriformis muscle due to some minor physical trauma. I was on a bike at the time and had to push throught the cramp. I felt the muscle *give* and everything was fine. Except I ended up with numbness, and various other issues. Nothing major in my case, but a serious anoyance.
Stretching, similar to what was in the video helped a lot. Over the years, the problems have mostly gone away, other than some numness on the skin of my leg in a few places, one small patch in which the hair all fell out. I dont know if the stretching helped cure the problem, but it definitely reduced the symptoms. I found that almost any stretch that I could feel in the periformis muscle helped. I also sometimes used a tennis ball to masage the muscle if it felt tight. I can even use a hard chair to massage it.
I dont know if you have this other problem, but I sometimes get serious pain in the muscle behind the shoulder blade. I was shown by a physical therapist that if you put a tennis ball in a sock (just to hold it, not necessary) and either lean against a wall or lay on it, you can use it to massage the muscle. Works wonders for me. I suppose this method could be used for any hard to reach place that needs massaging.
I was in a motorcycle accident 30 years ago, I broke my Fermur in four places and have had small numbness in the left side ever since.
I am 100 percent sure this is exacerbating my sciatica nerve problems and also causes me a headache with the doctors. For some reason they refuse to touch the problem areas and will not feel to the huge knot in my femur.
I forced the Physical therapist hand on the nodule or cycst yesterday because she could not find it..
The doctors are not collecting information well, it was impossible in the Thailand language to force them to do their job. However, here in the Philippines I can force them through their mental gaps.
Yes, an extremely bad accident that broke my femur is effecting this sitution.
