Ar� st Walk

The Remembering Together: Aberdeenshire journey took place over the summer, with arti st Claudia Zeiske completi ng her walk from mountain to sea as part of the Scotland-wide Covid Memorial initi ati ve.

Taking inspirati on from Aberdeenshire-born community planner Patrick Geddes, Claudia started walking from the top of Scotland’s second-highest mountain, Ben Macdui, to the port of Peterhead, and connected with many communiti es along the way.

The walk started in early July and her 200km journey was scheduled to be completed by the end of August. At the end of each stretch, individuals and community groups have come together over a cake or a meal to share their experiences of both pandemic and place. Claudia has supped tea with mountain climbers to knitti ng groups, from Team GB skiers to chemists, publicans, food banks and care homes. You can follow Claudia’s journey at htt ps://bit.ly/3AisJbK

GreenSpace Scotland, which is leading the project with support from the Scotti sh Government, would sti ll like to hear from you your Covid stories. Look out for some specially designed postcards soon to be distributed to libraries across the region and share your thoughts that way. If you are a local group who would like more informati on and/ or would like to welcome the arti st to your community, email artsteam@aberdeenshire. 23gov.uk – More informati on on Scotland’s Remembering Together programme can be found at htt ps://www.rememberingtogether.scot/

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Sciati ca

A Pain in the Butt ?!

If you’ve ever had pain in your lower back, butt ock or leg, then you might have assumed that you have sciati ca. What exactly is sciati ca? The defi niti on of sciati ca is pain anywhere along the course of the sciati c nerve (basically nearly everywhere from your hip to your toes!).

Pain in this area can be sharp or dull, or in some cases can feel more like pins and needles or numbness. Although the diagnosis of sciati ca is very common, receiving an offi cial name for your conditi on doesn’t necessarily make the pain any bett er!

The truth is that pain in this area can be caused by many diff erent things. Figuring out the exact cause of sciati ca can be challenging but this is essenti al to begin healing.

Potenti al Causes of “Sciati ca”:

Disc Lesions: You’ve all heard of You’ve all heard of a “slipped disc”. The truth is the disc doesn’t really slip anywhere – what usually happens is part of the disc tears and the inside of the disc bulges out. If the bulge is large enough it can push on a spinal nerve, causing sharp and shooti ng pain and pins and needles down the leg. Luckily this is a less common conditi on but extremely painful when it does happen.

Piriformis Syndrome: The sciati c nerve runs past the piriformis muscle nerve runs past the piriformis muscle (located around your hip/butt ock). The (located around your hip/butt ock). The sciati c nerve can become irritated when sciati c nerve can become irritated when the piriformis is very ti ght and sti ff (very the piriformis is very ti ght and sti ff (very common with prolonged sitti ng!) resulti ng common with prolonged sitti ng!) resulti ng in pain around the hip or into the thigh. in pain around the hip or into the thigh. Shooti ng pain can also occur if you are one of the 15% of people that have the sciati c nerve travelling through the piriformis!

Trigger Points: When they are very ti ght, some of the muscles around the hip and pelvis actually refer pain down the leg in a very similar patt ern to a disc lesion. This phenomenon is called a trigger point. We have lost count of how many pati ents we see who are convinced they have a disc problem, for us only to pinpoint a muscle in their hip and re-create their pain. Fortunately trigger points are much easier to deal with than disc problems!

SI Syndrome: The SI joints are the larger joints that connect your spine to your pelvis. Some studies say between 15% and 30% of low back pain suff erers have dysfuncti on of these joints. SI syndrome is usually caused by inacti vity and poor posture but can also be aggravated by injury or pregnancy. Pain can be anywhere from the lower back to the back of the leg, so diagnosis requires a complete physical examinati on.

There are so many potenti al causes of sciati ca, it seems unfair to group all of them under one name. Whether you have been diagnosed with sciati ca or not, treatment and recovery will vary depending on the true cause, how long the problem has been going on, and the age, lifestyle, and health of the person with the issue. The thought of addressing these factors on your own can be a daunti ng prospect! A pain in the butt is certainly no joke if you are the one who is suff ering with it.

Our team are experts in these types of conditi ons and will only commence a treatment plan aft er a full examinati on and diagnosis has been made.

If any of the above sounds familiar, then we have a soluti on for you; an enormous 50% off a New Pati ent Experience with us at our custom designed clinic in Banchory (saving of £55!).

Get in touch with our friendly team by emailing hello@banchoryspinalhealth. co.uk or calling 01330 824040!

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