I Am Service Connected For Sciatica At 10% Increase How?

[c&p man]

I am currently rated at 10% for sciatica of lower left extermity secondary to my back.. I hhave a reconsideration for it now...i see my va doctor like every 6 months...i just want to know what i can do to help my cliam.... i know if i dont show them more evedence they will just give me a c and p exam and say nothing changed bc no reason for increase...it hurts and limits me a lot... any suggestion on what i should do like i know i am going to start going to the ER for it...what else can i do.....

[c&p man]

Here is a link of a BVA decision, that I think is along the lines of what your looking for. I couldn't read the whole case. I have a problem reading PDF files and I dont feel like spending three four hundred to buy some m/s office software at this time. Hope it helps.

http://www.va.gov/ogc/docs/1997/Prc36-97.doc

t&b

i am rated at 40% for my back...and the 10% is the scaitiaca secondary to my back...ok thanks you all for the info...i have no muscle atrophyu /...i am rated at mild i know it worse than this.....

[john999]

Often vets just don't know how to respond with good information if they don't know anything about a particular topic. I know nothing about sciatica except I don't want it. Can you back be relatively OK while sciatica affects the leg? I have a bad back but no sciatica. The docs always ask me about pain in my legs, and I say I don't have that kind of pain. Does sicatica come from disc or bony growth putting pressure on the nerve? How do you treat sciatica...surgically? Can a so-called slipped disc cause sciatica? Does spondylosis cause sciatica?

[c&p man]

Often vets just don't know how to respond with good information if they don't know anything about a particular topic. I know nothing about sciatica except I don't want it. Can you back be relatively OK while sciatica affects the leg? I have a bad back but no sciatica. The docs always ask me about pain in my legs, and I say I don't have that kind of pain. Does sicatica come from disc or bony growth putting pressure on the nerve? How do you treat sciatica...surgically? Can a so-called slipped disc cause sciatica? Does spondylosis cause sciatica?

ur post is no sense...jonn... oh well i just wanted to know what i can do in the mean time to help my claim ...as i dont knwo what to do while waiting..

[tagandbag]

c&p, I have lower back problems L-4, L-5, are protruding out a bit and does cause me sciatica at times, but mild. But, my pain is at the spine are and feels like someone sticking a hot ice pick in my back. Been to ortho's, chiro's for years. I live with it, because it isn't all the time. I would hate to have it all the time.

But last month the VA had me go to there rehab center and talk to a chiropractor. No, cracking or adjustments, that I was expecting. Instead he took me to school on why I get these pains in my back.Not what I thought. First he explained the aging process that happens to your disc's. The disc are like gristle and if you slice in half it would look like an onion and at the core of the disc it is a gel like substance. As you get older the disc starts to wear and get brittle. When this happens, small fissure develop and this gel like substance leaks out and is what give you the pain as it touches the nerve endings. Now your muscles in the back start to work harder and cause other pain, etc.. What he was trying to tell me is that the muscles around the spine " core muscles" are not reacting and very slow as your large muscles in the back are overworking and causing more pain/problems. Finally, I understand this "core muscle" hype everyone is talking about. To make it short, I have been doing the core muscle workout with the balls that you see in all the gyms. Never knew what the basic purpose was with these big rubber balls. It is the buzz and possibly may help your situation and I can notice the difference. This wont help your claim, but may be beneficial for you. I hope it helps.

t&b

[rgero311975]

c&p, I have lower back problems L-4, L-5, are protruding out a bit and does cause me sciatica at times, but mild. But, my pain is at the spine are and feels like someone sticking a hot ice pick in my back. Been to ortho's, chiro's for years. I live with it, because it isn't all the time. I would hate to have it all the time.

But last month the VA had me go to there rehab center and talk to a chiropractor. No, cracking or adjustments, that I was expecting. Instead he took me to school on why I get these pains in my back.Not what I thought. First he explained the aging process that happens to your disc's. The disc are like gristle and if you slice in half it would look like an onion and at the core of the disc it is a gel like substance. As you get older the disc starts to wear and get brittle. When this happens, small fissure develop and this gel like substance leaks out and is what give you the pain as it touches the nerve endings. Now your muscles in the back start to work harder and cause other pain, etc.. What he was trying to tell me is that the muscles around the spine " core muscles" are not reacting and very slow as your large muscles in the back are overworking and causing more pain/problems. Finally, I understand this "core muscle" hype everyone is talking about. To make it short, I

Go to ER.. tell every doctor you go to...try to get some emg or nerve conduction test... most likely they will gie you a c and p exam and ask you questions and look for muscle atrohpy...if you dont have artohpy they will ask you about how much work it has made you miss..etc// unless thier is atrophy or strong nerve root compression in the spine it hard to get an increase...that is just what i think from what i have seen and read....

tt