Re Leg Discomfort

[Charlie1boy]

It was interesting to read the replies to the recent post on leg discomfort, and especially to learn that our "Volunteer" had driven almost all the way through France without discomfort.

I was diagnosed with pmr at the beginning of this year, and am just tapering down via the ultra slow method from 10mg to 9mg.

Luckily, I have experienced very few problems, though I can feel the familiar pmr pain at the back of my thighs/buttocks in the mornings. However, driving is a different matter, and after some 2 hours behind the wheel, my thighs/buttocks become really uncomfortable. I am fine in the passenger seat, where I can stretch and bend my knees,

For the moment I just hope it will go away, but it just shows how pmr can manifest itself so differently in all of us.

Thanks, as always, to this forum, which is a mine of helpful information.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I do try to stop every couple of hours and at least get out.

I have fiddled about with seat position a lot since I had PMR - for 5 years after half an hour in the car I could barely straighten up never mind walk! I now drive sitting far more upright and the seat bucket positioned a bit differently and further forward. And absolutely the most important thing is a lumbar support - no lumbar support = very uncomfortable and back pain develops quite quickly.

Have a few sessions of Bowen - because sitting and sore bottom and thighs suggests piriformis syndrome or even myofascial pain syndrome affecting the lower back.

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for quick reply. Yes, we do always try to change drivers after a couple of hours, and that obviously helps. I have no problems with any back pain - it is specific to the hamstring area, and going up from there. It is not unbearable, but I really feel the need to stretch, which is not easy when driving!

It is the same both sides, and feels similar to the weeks prior to the pmr diagnosis. On the higher doses of pred, it cleared, but now seems to be creeping back again.

[jinasc in reply to Charlie1boy]

Give Bowen Therapy a whirl as PMRpro has said.

Three sessions and you will know if it is going to work for you, it has worked for so many of us, including me.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Charlie1boy]

We don't change drivers! I'd have to give up my lumbar support - only in the driver's seat! I also prefer driving than being driven - I find it less uncomfortable when I know and can anticipate braking in particular.

And yes, both the things I suggested tend to improve with higher doses of pred because they are also caused to some extent by inflammation but then they resurface as the dose falls. One of the top PMR people in the UK has taken up on this aspect of PMR - I said to her that I didn't think that it is all "just" PMR and the people where the PMR is difficult to get under control or where it reappears as a "maybe flare" may actually have something else going on which can be dealt with using other methods. Some respond well to local cortisone injections which achieve enough relief to manage with a lower dose of oral pred. Bowen therapy also can achieve a lot - and is so gentle it can be used for anyone without persuading a doctor to hand out a prescription. As sambucca says - if it is going to work you will know after at most 3 sessions. Often patients walk out of the first session already aware something is different!

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you both for your replies. I won't get into a discussion about "other drivers", but I take your point!

Maybe when the Rugby World Cup gets under way, I will forget about the pain!

Meantime, if it continues to be uncomfortable, I will try the Bowen treatment.

Thanks again.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Charlie1boy]

Hehe - he admits himself that it is far cheaper for me to drive! I get well over 60 mpg out of our large Passat on a long journey, a good 10% better than him - because I rarely use my brake when entering a speed limit or coming up behind someone and then I accelerate more gently. When it's appropriate I still drive at well over 70mph - in mainland Europe of course where it is allowed

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

I understand completely, and am of a similar mind, but have learned to keep my mouth shut when the other half is driving!!