Sciatica problems caused or exacrebated by my Aneros sessions

Any thoughts or ideas?Love_is,

I am sorry to hear about your sciatica pain, but there is reason for hope. The Pro-State® line of patented prostate massagers were developed by High Island Health for the symptomatic relief of prostate related pain and one of the side effects from their use was enhanced pleasure response from the body which ultimately led to the birth of the Aneros product line. Medical developments for the treatment of sciatica pain have included the use of TENs units (Transcutaneous electrical stimulation).
"This pain relief technique is a passive process with no known side effects. TENS decreases the perception of pain and may be used to control acute and chronic pain. There are several patches placed on your skin in the area that is affected and mild electrical current generates stimuli. This stimuli confuses the spinal cord and brain pain processing centers. Painful signals are replaced by tingling electrical signals in this sciatica treatment. This provides relaxation of the muscle, improves mobility, and can relieve pain." (quote taken from Arizona Pain treatment center website.)
Actually, one of the side effects some patients using TENS units noted was also enhanced pleasure response from the body which ultimately led to the development of the E-stim (Erotic stimulation) market. Combining these two practices along with a mild analgesic like ibuprofen may be a solution to your situation. I would also recommend you use a pillow or some other lower back support during your Anerosessions to relieve unnecessary stressing of your muscles.
Good Vibes to You !

OK a very interesting post. So here is the deal. Not knowin what to u do. You may have a compression of the lumbar spine resulting from prolonged sitting but I don't know if you have an occupation that has prolonged desk work, other than that prolonged bending forward. But if I were to say how to get rid of them. If it were me having low back and sciatica pain I would personally start sun salutation exercises, possibly inversion table work at 60 degrees, and lastly decompression. If you haven't had an mri talk to your doctor and see if he would order one to check for disc hernias. If that is the case note the therapy I would do above. Best of luck. See pt or a good chiropractor

Also tens units do not heal anything but they do mask pain

Two fractured and compressed vertebrae when I was a teen have given me back problems from time to time for the last 40 years. For me the "Arch" is the killer maneuver so I try to avoid it at all costs. The aneros actually works the best for me if I relax every muscle including my back. You can access both nipples on your side if you go cross handed an when on your stomach you can raise on to your elbows and go cross handed and get both nipples also. Good luck and beware of the "Arch".

@Love_is... Yup. I'm another just like Bruce, Yankee and you.

Hey @Love_is ... long time no-see you here! Sorry to hear about the Sciatic situation. For openers I can offer some light at the end of the tunnel.

Good news: At about age 55, after about seven years of pain radiating down my Right leg, the problem seemed to clear up on it's own. I'm told this remission is a result of the soft cushions between the Lumbar vertebrae loosing their elasticity.

The not so great news: Well before my 60th birthday the Sciatic Pain was replaced by occasional "non-radicular" (Localized) pain in the L3-L/5 region. For me, this has been treatable with a local box-shaped pattern of TENS pads or simple back exercises. So, a proactive approach may be your piece of cake.

I became convinced that carrying and sitting on a thick wallet in my right hip pocket was to blame. So as my Physical Therapy guy suggests, "a Walletectomy" might help. For over 25 years, I've sacrificed my Macho hip-pocket image by placing my wallet in either a front trouser or coat pocket. Yes, dress slacks don't drape properly.. but that's life.

When the radicular pain became intolerable my employer had it's Industrial Med gal get me a course slot in a short series of local presentations by a franchisee of "The American Back School." That identified a couple of exercises that would work for me. My forte is the "Pelvic Tilt" and three days of 'twice-a-day' sessions work as an excellent curative/preventive routine for me. I also have a couple of straight backed chairs with short lifts under the back legs. My working computer chair is one of those 'kneelers' that puts most of the sitting load on one's shins. If you can get a short course of Back School, Do It. (iirc the first session was general discussion, the second session was identification of individually selected exercises and therapies that would help and the third session was practicum (think Yoga mat) to make sure students were performing the 'moves' correctly.)

Back to the TENS routine...which may not help the Sciaticia but might help mask other Lubmar pain when you are a bit older... I have my wife apply the quadrant of TENS pads near the L/4 -- L/5 region, just to the right of my centerline. Then I place a heating pad on the lower back, slide in a Vice massager and turn on the vibe. Finally, I adjust the modulation frequency to something close to a multiple of the Vice's vibe pattern and ENJOY!

Regarding orgasmic sessions on your side. Try just the upper nipple for prostate play. Rewire the other nipple to something else. I'm now left-nip to Prostate and right-nip to penis. Might take two or three months to do that rewire.

Google tags: Radicular back pain... non-radicular back pain... Back School

Sun salutations sequence A are my preferred therapeutic exercises. One time did them for as long as 45 min. Walked out pain free. Sciatica is usually the result of an imbalance of the sacrum and the femoral acetabular joint causing muscles to spasm above the nerve. Get that balanced you will be Scott free. But if it isn't sciatica but lumbar pain it b is the usual L4/5 disc compression and or bulge. In either case sun salutations help but if you are hunched over the hip flexor a are pulling on your spine and need release. Google the stretch on those

This may help...

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/08/23/the-best-exercises-to-relieve-sciatica-nerve-pain-heal-sciatica-video/

Love_is,

Good to see you again, sorry to hear about your back problems. As one who has experienced sciatica and other spine related pain, I can certainly relate to what's going on with you. To start off with, if this recent episode was not associated with an event, i.e. a stabbing pain while trying to pick up a heavy item, it's likely the result of a gradual process that led to nerve impingement. That is to say, it built up over time and it will be resolved over time. Take heart, many low back problems can be treated without the use of epidurals, drugs or surgery. If you're experiencing sciatica the area of L4 - L5 is likely the cause. I had bulges in the disc in that location as well as L-5 - S1...so I was experiencing sciatica and sacral pain.

What causes these problems? Compression of the discs, calcification of certain areas of the vertebrae, inadequate muscular support/improper spinal alignment and stress are some of the most common factors. If you are overweight, it will be very difficult to ever bring this problem under control as it will accelerate disc compression. Overweight individuals who have undergone surgery often see their back problems return at a difficult location on the spine. So if you're overweight...slim down. Calcification and the subsequent narrowing of the channels that house the spinal nerves is part of the aging process (as is some disc compression) so short of surgery there is nothing that will change this. In many cases this leads to a more limited range of movement. It's not to say that you can't move at all, but as in my case, it may come down to moving a bit more sensibly. Moving more sensibly involves having proper muscular support and when it come to the lower back that support is from the abdomen and legs. Having toned abdominal muscles may be the key factor in avoiding back problems (it's kept me free of the surgeon's knife for over 15 years). It's not necessary to develop a six pack, but you need to come to place where you precede any lifting with a strong and sustained abdominal contraction. This creates a single unit of strength and support with the back and abdomen. Failing to do this focuses the force of the lift on your lower back. Avoid bending over when you pick something up....even some socks off the ground, as this cantilevers your lower back putting a tremendous amount of pressure (force) on a small area.

While stress has been associated with just every malady known to man, it's uncommon for us to think of lower back problems being related to this. But it can be a factor, remember, stress can cause muscles to spasm...muscle spasm can cause nerve impingement....nerve impingement causes pain and swelling which leads to more muscle spasm. And around and around it goes.....the cycle of pain. Some years ago I was given a book called Healing the Back: the Mind-Body Connection by Dr. John E. Sarno. One of the things that grabbed me early on was a simple statement that he made regarding stress, namely that people lived more physically punishing lives in the later 19th and early 20th centuries and while back problems were a known problem, they weren't at the epidemic levels seen today. So consider how you handle stress in your life.

Back problems are dealt with in stages. In the acute phase, it's all about stopping the cycle of pain . This is when anti-inflammatories, tens therapy, cryotherapy (icing) and mobilization (stretching/physical therapy) are the most helpful. As the inflammation lessens and the pain abates, stretching should continue followed by some light exercise. As time goes on and you become pain free the stretching and exercise must continue, from there it must become part of a life-long routine. The type of stretching and exercise that you do are essential to ones success as well. For that I'd recommend a good chiropractor or physical therapist.....it's important that someone is present to ensure that you are doing the right kind of exercises and that you are executing them properly. Be advised that there is possibility of doing further harm if you exercise improperly. The leg lifts shown in the link in the post above are a case in point. While lifts like these can be an element of a good exercise program, executing the lift without first flattening your lower back can lead to further problems. ALL exercises that involve the lower back should be preceded by a pelvic tilt. Tilting the pelvis upward and holding this position removes the lordosis (inward curvature of the spine) flattening the lower back. Doing this avoids stress on the lower back and tones those muscles at the same time.

Now to your Aneros sessions. No, I don't believe that your sessions are the cause of these problems, although they may put stress on a compromised lower back. If you're on your back with your Aneros you may have soreness and discomfort if your condition isn't thoroughly resolved (you are out of pain and have established good muscle tone). After my last episode I experienced the same thing prior to getting toned, it would be fine for a minute or two, then suddenly I was having discomfort that became a real distraction. The result...no Super O's. Again, I would emphasizing the important of stretching and toning your back before utilizing this position. But if you're committed to trying it now, there are two things you might do, first put several pillows under your knees, this takes some of the stress off your lower back. Second, try maintaining the pelvic tilt during your session. Doing so should keep you pain free...but it's possible that it might become a distraction too. If that's the case, you have to go to another position for a while. It's just possible that doing so may usher in some new success, particularly if you haven't explored alternate positions in some time. If not, know that there will come a point where you are able to be on your back with your Aneros once more without any discomfort....it just takes time.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

BF Mayfield

p.s. Since your back problem occurred without an incident I'll throw this in there as well. How old is the mattress that you sleep on? In general they should be replaced every 8 to 10 years. A long time ago I had a chiropractor ask me the same question. He told me that many back problems are caused by worn out mattresses (remember we spend 7 to 9 hours each day on them, often in the same position). Our bodies are able to adjust to some level of wear over time, but there comes a point when your back can adjust no more...that's where discomfort and pain sets in. So you may have been sleeping on a worn out mattress for years...and not known it. Something to consider.

Hello folks,

I did some searching here on this forum and it seems that a number of men have had sciatica problems, but no mention of it being the cause of their Aneros sessions. Has anyone had this problem in conjunction with their Aneros sessions?

ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY. I am quite certain that my Aneros sessions at one point either caused or worsened my sciatica. I felt this because sometimes the pain shooting down my leg and through my butt would be, at times, preceeded by a pleasure wave. I, like you searched this forum looking for others that may have experienced this. I'm sure arthritis was the main culprit but I believe that perhaps the in-voluntaries or the occasional muscle spasm (pleasurable) contributed to my condition. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced. It has since passed for me after approximately 7-8 months, 1 of which was simply the worst month of my life.
The doctor I was seeing called it Periformis syndrome as the periformis muscle crosses right across your glute attaching near the base of the spine. TENS did not help me at all. Stretching and foam rollers helped a little, ice was not much help. I had to give it time!

I feel for you man!
Good Luck!

Thank you everyone for your input and ideas. Here's some answers to questions:

Way too much sitting in front of a computer. I'm not over weight. And my mattress is well over ten years old and actually causes me pain and discomfort in other areas in addition to my lower back while sleeping. On my list of things to buy is something that allows me to either stand or sit in front of my computer and a thick mattress topper as I don't think I can afford a new mattress right now.

I've unfortunately been lazy with doing stretches and gentle abdominal workouts. But looks like it's going to have to be a regular routine.

Hang in there my friend! Yes, you can be pain free and you will be able to return to your position of choice for your Aneros sessions, but it does take some work. With respect to the bed, you might try a board between the mattress and the box spring coupled with a memory foam topper (test it out first, some people find them uncomfortable with regard to heat retention). This should give you a short-term workaround that provides a bit more support. With respect to a chair to sit on, you might consider a kneeling chair. While they take some getting used to and don't appear comfortable they take a lot of the strain off the lower back, and help you to adopt a better posture. I used one myself when I was in the thick of it.

All the best,

BF Mayfield

Thanks B Mayfield! Much appreciated.

Agree with Brian Mayfield's thoughts on both the kneeling chair and the board and mattress topper for the bed. We've added toppers to the bed in our guest room and to one of two sofa beds we use for 'guest overflow.' Good toppers aren't cheap but this isn't a place for corner cutting.

On the kneeler, try several before you buy. Select one that is adjustable over wide enough range so that you can add an extra thin pad or foam wedge for your shins. One of my sons has an ergonomic chair that has both a back and a kneeling platform. I've not tried it but it might be worth a search.

Get well guy and have a grand and painless New Year. There is hope. I have far fewer incidents of back difficulty now than I did 35 years ago. I can usually endure a Coach seat on a transoceanic flight !

@Love_is

I feel your pain, but I doubt it has anything to do with Aneros. This is coming from a long time sciatica sufferer.
How i got Sciatica pain, well i lifted 310 lbs of Deadlift for 4
repetitions and next week lifted 300 lbs of Squat for 5 repetitions.
Now you can judge the main cause of my pain.

I was diagnosed with L3-L4
and L4-L5 Bulging Disc but the disc cured naturally after few
months, but the pain on my right side of buttock was intolerable. I
have lived with this pain for last 2 years. I tried everything on me –
Muscle Imbalance Therapy, Inversion Therapy, Enzymes Supplement,
Heat and cold, physio therapy and many more, but nothing happened.

Then I obtained this book 2 weeks ago and
followed the treatment as it is stated in the book and u won’t believe
this, my sciatica pain was decreased to 70% in just few days. Go
through this treatment and see what happens: http://tinyurl.com/SciaticaHomeRemedy
You will thank me later.

This is presented as so many scams are presented. I don't know if it is or not, but the way it is presented would lead me to believe it is. I started to sit through the video, but after 5 minutes or so of the guy saying nothing, I gave up.

If this is legit, why don't you explain in your own words, some of the techniques or methods in the program.

As this is your only post, It would seem that you are just trying to drum up some new business.

I have found over the years the best method to keep sciatica pain away is exercise and eating healthy.

@Longshanks, Rumel, Rook and everyone else.

Once again, I have to express my gratitude to my fellow travelers, especially those among you with this terrible problem. I guess I should have known I'd find a discussion thread right up my sciatic nerve! As an aside, I had been absent from chat for nearly 6 months and have now returned, and the same goes for the discussion forums. This is the first time I've checked them and...voila!

@Longshanks: we must be related! I also have a diagnosis of Piriformis syndrome made by myself--from my clinical history and looking at my MRI (I'm a radiologist, after all). The Piriformis is a horizontally directed muscle behind the hip joint that helps stabilize it. It attaches to the pelvis and sacrum and therefore has nerves that are close to and in some way connected to the lower sacral plexus to which some of our pleasure sensations come using Aneros or with A-less. The sciatic nerve, which is what is affected with lumbar (lower back) disc herniations, passes right under it (and sometimes through it!). If the muscle gets larger (or smaller) it can impinge on the nerve and you have sciatic nerve pain without needing to have a disc herniation. It is a great mimic of disc herniation, and only in the past several years has become familiar to orthopedists and back pain treaters, in part because there was no way to make the diagnosis.

I have been given some exercises by my PT guy that make it better and it was improved after acupuncture with electrical stimulation of the needles, but that was temporary. He also gave me exercises which have also helped, but I have to do them twice daily. Meanwhile, the discomfort, I am convinced is what has interfered with my Aneros pleasure and my enjoyment/performance in intercourse over the past 6 months or more. The whole thing started...well, I won't go into it, but it's actually a funny (in retrospect) story. Anyhow, I will try to see if I can get hold of the TENS treatment.

When I don't have the pain, my Aneros/A-less and coital experience is better, but there is no question in my mind that some of my 'malfunctioning' is related. It may very be because the pain sensations from the sacral region are interfering directly with any pleasure sensations.

Meanwhile, I am trying to re-educate/re-rewire my body to get beyond this. It's almost as if I have to re-learn the devices. Just last night, I encountered gdunn and he reminded me of his 'do nothing' version and I am acting as if I am just starting. There is actually some benefit in approaching this as a newbie---new discoveries again. I won't make light of this, but it's almost like that joke about dementia: you meet new people every day. 🙂

Wishing everyone a great Holiday and happy New Year.
Looking forward to continued foruming and chatting!

@Armon-neat I have learned to sit in a deep squat with both feet flat on the floor (asian squat). Sitting on a chair gives me sciatica (burning/tingling across both legs) but spending a minute in a deep squat relieves these symptoms. Along with the burning/tingling I also got a glowy sensation in my prostate region (not entirely unfamiliar) which would cause some distress since I would be sitting on a chair trying to do work. When my symptoms were very bad I would squat for a couple of minutes before going to bed so that I could get to sleep easily. Taking a brisk walk helps as well.


Does this make any sense for Piriformis syndrome, or would a hernia be more likely?


(My GP said I need orthopedic insoles... blech)

Armon...welcome back...always respected your wisdom and wish you the best in your re-entry so-to-speak. ??

@Longshanks: we must be related! I also have a diagnosis of Piriformis syndrome made by myself--from my clinical history and looking at my MRI (I'm a radiologist, after all). The Piriformis is a horizontally directed muscle behind the hip joint that helps stabilize it. It attaches to the pelvis and sacrum and therefore has nerves that are close to and in some way connected to the lower sacral plexus to which some of our pleasure sensations come using Aneros or with A-less. The sciatic nerve, which is what is affected with lumbar (lower back) disc herniations, passes right under it (and sometimes through it!). If the muscle gets larger (or smaller) it can impinge on the nerve and you have sciatic nerve pain without needing to have a disc herniation. It is a great mimic of disc herniation, and only in the past several years has become familiar to orthopedists and back pain treaters, in part because there was no way to make the diagnosis.

I have been given some exercises by my PT guy that make it better and it was improved after acupuncture with electrical stimulation of the needles, but that was temporary. He also gave me exercises which have also helped, but I have to do them twice daily. Meanwhile, the discomfort, I am convinced is what has interfered with my Aneros pleasure and my enjoyment/performance in intercourse over the past 6 months or more. The whole thing started...well, I won't go into it, but it's actually a funny (in retrospect) story. Anyhow, I will try to see if I can get hold of the TENS treatment.

When I don't have the pain, my Aneros/A-less and coital experience is better, but there is no question in my mind that some of my 'malfunctioning' is related. It may very be because the pain sensations from the sacral region are interfering directly with any pleasure sensations.

Yes, it does sound as if we have some similarities in diagnosis and symptoms. The thing that really convinced me is the pain that would shoot down my leg was very similar to a pleasure wave but it got hotter and more intense in a VERY bad way. I believe there was some connection. This is completely my opinion and a self-diagnosis but I'm pretty much convinced. I don't think it caused the sciatica but the pain/pleasure waves seems to start the same way.

@Jaxsun: Thank you for those kind words!! It is nice to be back in the swing of things in the forum.






@Love_is: So, that in a way is my response to you about your question (hi, by the way, I remember you from when I first started my journey) . It isn't the Aneros that has done this, but the use of the muscles around the anus that might then trap the sciatic nerve. Why it should happen on one side or the other, is anybody's guess. And perhaps we should try to do the kind of exercises that would prevent the piriformis muscle on one side becoming too strong at the expense of the other side.






@Longshanks: What you are saying about the sensations being related is definitely true, if only because while experiencing the Aneros (or A less, for that matter) sensations, we contract those piriformis muscles as we tense and relax the anal/butt zone. Thanks for the suggestion about using yoga! I shall try the 'sun salutation' yoga exercises. I have come to the conclusion that to get at this problem, I have to somehow 'even out' the imbalance in the muscles (I think that in my case, because of the injury on the right, the left hip and lower extremity had to strengthen, and that has led to enlargement (hypertrophy) of the piriformis on my left side. It would really be great (and I am hoping this is the case) that some of my ED issues might be related to that—after all you can't maintain an erection if you are in pain!


I almost by chance found a site devoted to Piriformis syndrome during some medical fact 'digging' on the internet. The site is called www.miraclestretch.com and they make, among other things a knee “harness” that you strap on your good side, place the 'bad” leg's ankle on your lower thigh and then pull up the handle of the harness. As you raise/flex the hip and knee of the good side, it pulls up the bad side and stretches the piriformis muscle. There is almost immediate relief with this (for me). I do it (well, I try to) 3 times in the morning and also in the afternoon/evening. There are a couple of variations that you can do. And, of course, you can do the same thing without the harness: Just crossing the ankle over the good leg and pulling up on the good side by locking your two hands behind the lower thigh. Holding for a count of 30 or doing 30 reps is what I do.


Of course, never being satisfied with leaving things alone, I have tried these exercises (and a set of situps that I do) with one of my aneros devices in place. Sometimes, it is quite pleasureable!! I'd be interested in hearing what you guys experience when you do it.


Wishing all good feelings and a happy and healthy New Year.