Can anxiety make sciatica worse?

[GoldenWolf]

Alright,so I made an mri due to severe sciatica pain with tingling that started radiating little to the left side,I've been in pain for like 3-4 months have seen doctors,meds didn't really help,mri confirmed a big l4-5 herniated with overwright on the right side compressing L5 nerve on both sides,I also have stenosis which the herniation further narrows.The pain has caused me ALOT of anxiety and depression,feeling hopeless and that the pain will never go away,my pain worsens when walking to the point I must sit down ,this happens after like 200 meters,then the pain is unbearable,my dad told me the pain could all be made up in my head?does it make sense to have 10/10 pain pain with serious difficulty of bending without having and psychical issues ?Funny part is he knows the results of mri and said its nothing..what do you guys think?

[Paxiled]

It's no better when you're in your Sixties, as I am, and watch everyone going about their normal stuff and you're hurting.  Seeing a rheumatologist leads to two possibilities:  physical therapy or cortisone shots.  Or both.  That's all they know how to do.  If you see an orthopedist, there are two possibilities:  surgery or physical therapy.  I'd just skip the docs and get a referral to physical therapy and see if it works.  As for psychosomatic pain, you already know you have a disc problem, it's been diagnosed, so it isn't completely psychosomatic.  But even if it is, it'll help to keep it moving and do something about it.  In the meantime, if worrying is a problem, therapy is in order if you can't get a handle on it.  You can always get the drugs if you need them, but it seems to me to be better if you can find an exercise program that gets you back to moving in a positive way since the drugs they use and the surgery are problematic.  They'll be there if you need them.

[Paxiled]

Here's the thing about the back -- it can look fine and you can hurt and it can look terrible and you can feel fine.  I've gone through a lot of back problems, and have learned that nearly everyone gets bad discs as they age.  Most people don't get a problem from it, and nobody knows why some do and some don't when there's no evidence of a severe trauma, such as an automobile accident.  Some of it is not the back itself but inflammation that could have started years ago from some trauma that didn't seem to be a big deal, but the body stayed inflamed until it couldn't take it anymore and you start to hurt.  It's also true that it's estimated that 90% of the time back pain will resolve with no treatment at all in a short amount of time.  So you're in an area where not much is known but a lot of treatment is sold -- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it turns a short-term problem into a permanent one.  Tough area.  And it can be an area where a lot of pain is psychosomatic, or claimed to be so, because you can't measure that, either.  Hopefully you'll learn some exercises from someone who is treating you that can help you recover and strengthen the area.  But nobody can really tell you if it's psychosomatic or not, the science just isn't that developed in that area.  And the above post is right in that focusing on the pain does make it more prominent in your mind, but the pain is real.  I think it's unlikely this level of pain is all in your head, and you have evidence of a possible cause -- the real question is how best to treat it in the least invasive and risky way and come out the other side, and worrying about it won't help that any -- take it from me.

[GoldenWolf]

Thank you both for your replies!The question is,if it's ,let's say psychosomatic which i doubt in my case,what can i do about it?it seems like a vicious cycle of anxiety,thinking about the possibility that it's all in my head makes me think like I am crazy ,I know anxiety can cause muscle tension but didn't know it could cause this,scary..don't even mention the permanent possibility,I am 24 and thinking about it makes me feel horrible.I got a subscription of Medrol,which is steroid and of course after checking all the side effects I decided not to take it yet,I have my next appointment next week to a rheumatologist .The most depressing thing is I see everyone at my age enjoys life,going outside having fun,only I am stuck with this:( btw I am overweight ,have 70 lbs plus,that also might have an impact on my pain,the other thing that's bothering me is that mri doesn't mention inflammation.Also did you hear of Waddell signs?i heard it's supposed to measure if the symptoms are psychosomatic or not.

[LRon]

Some of the pain could be psychosomatic. You are focusing (perhaps hyper-focusing) a great deal of your attention on that area of your body. Let your doctor do his/her job in finding a solution, and try to keep your mind occupied with other things as much as possible. You want to avoid being hyper-vigilant, reacting to any and every pain or sensation you feel. Best wishes!