Sciatica and manual transmission
 

I, like millions of others, suffers from sciatica, though not chronically, but a few times a month it acts up. I'm only 24...

Whenever it acts up, driving my 8 is automatically out of the question as I only get it on my left leg (thigh/butt), causing tremendous pain every time I attempt to press the clutch pedal.

Good thing I have an automatic beater. But just seeing if you guys who suffer from this have a trick/tip to ease the pain while you're in the driver's seat.

Even sciatica can't decrease my desire to drive this vehicle :cwm27:

I use my clutch with a rag on a stick

Microdiscectomy.

I'm hoping it doesn't get to that... :mad:

I just try to re adjust my seat, sometimes moving the seat bottom up or down helps. I usually only encounter this on long trips. Hope this helps.

Get your back fixed. I too had this problem after two back ops. In 2003 I had to make that difficult decision of M/T or A/T on my 8. After months of going back and forth I ordered the A/T. As I was driving home I wondered if I just made a big mistake because the ride was knifing me in the back. I was retiring soon after that and got a little better, now years later I wish I had the M/T. I'm sure even now if I had the M/T and had to do any stop and go commuting I would be in trouble. I will be getting the new RX-16X with the new "DCT" electric clutch transmission, it will shift faster then the M/T!

7 herniated discs and severe bilateral sciatica. 21 btw. I drive my MT as a DD. The key is positioning; find the angle that gives you relief...not much more to it than that as far as driving goes

Also get extra lumbar support or a pillow.

Yeah, I always just wait it out and get in the 8 as soon as the pain goes away, of course it comes right back in a week or two.

I asked for an inversion table for X'mas, so hopefully that would solve my problem, or improve it at least.

Do you carry a wallet/whatever in your left rear pocket? I was 35 or so when sciatica reared it's ugly head. After trying a couple of different drugs (steroids, narcotics) without a whole lot of success and with a lot of side effects (steroids = weight gain, unholy appetite, weird dreams, narcotics = being itchy and feeling stupid, still f'ing hurts!) my doc asked me to start putting my wallet in the front pocket. Problem solved, I'm now 50 and haven't had a recurrence!

-Mike

Great advice. I had this same issue as well and now no longer sit on the wallet. I also focused on strengthening the pelvic bowl muscles, gluteus maximus, abbs. made a significant diffrence for me.

I literally just found this out a couple of days ago, so I'm in the market for a heavy duty money clip that can hold numerous cards at the same time.

Silly me, I've had my fat wallet for years now in my back pocket, it is literally the size of a postcard almost.

With the knowledge of that, and me getting an inversion table, I'm hoping to not have a recurrence as well!

No need to suffer. See a Chiropractor.

I've had my share of chiropractic trips, and while they always provide temporary relief, it just doesn't cure it.

Supposedly it's not "curable", but if a $300 inversion table will provide the same temporary relief as chiropractors, it will save me a bundle in the long run.

Done the drugs, chiro, acu p, walet, shots, ops, etc.....let us know how the inversion table works.

Will do.

If my back/sciatica doesn't improve, or worsen down the road, hopefully the new RX will have the automated dual clutch like they said they would.

Recaros