-Isms: Views on life in rural America

Talk about a pain in my ^*&$. In this case, it’s sciatic nerve pain, beginning in the lower back, extending down the side of my right leg, ending slightly below the knee. What started as an occasional, but usually sharp pain, about two years ago morphed into feeling like I could not stand up, let alone walk, a few months ago.

A visit to the chiropractor confirmed the psoas muscles were overly constricted and the sciatic nerve inflamed and angry.

The culprit: a desk job.

Rx: Yoga, targeted stretches, a bi-weekly deep tissue massage and a standing desk.

Prognosis: It’s getting better. However, to quote Dr. Trent, “It’s going to take time to undo a dozen years of damage.”

During my teaching years, I seldom sat still, except maybe at the end of class, when students would bring essays or other assignments for proofreading.

Once I moved and married Scott, I resumed my freelance writing career, which included a lot of desk time, and began teaching part time, which included an 80 minute, round-trip car ride. Finally, I landed at a newspaper and, suffice it to say, extended the amount of desk down time.

Damage done. Now, I’m working on removing the tension and praying arthritis does not set in. Some days are better than others. After one day with the standing desk, I can tell it’s going to make a difference.

The downside, any sudden jolt - or even a slight bump - can feel excruciating, like an electric shock running from your hips to your knees. I’m not talking an I-bumped-the-electric-fence kind of shock. This is far more, well, shocking.

ICYMI: the sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body. It begins at the spinal cord and runs through the hips and butt and branches down each leg. Often, sciatica is caused by a bone spur or disk that presses on the sciatic nerve.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, approximately 40% - or two of every five - U.S. citizens will experience sciatica at some point in their lifetime.

If you’ve never experienced this type of pain, I hope you don’t, because having a (literal) pain in the butt is definitely annoying.