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I am 27 and work at a big box grocery store, so I stoop, crouch, and kneel a lot. I've slowly developed a shooting pain that begins in my right lower back and extends to my outer right thigh. There is no obvious activity that aggravates it, but today I woke up and it had graduated from "noticeable" to "annoying", so it's time to do something about it. I plan to start a yoga routine because I suspect it has to do with inflexibility. I also think my crappy desk chair is contributing. Any recommendations for better desk chairs? I typically sit cross legged. Beyond that, does anyone have advice for potential causes, fixes, or preventative measures?
I'm not a doctor, but this sounds like sciatica. The internet can suggest some specific stretches that might help.
It could also be the pyriformis muscle if it's specifically in the back of the thigh. If lying down on your back, with your left foot on the ground, crossing your right leg over the left, then with your arms pushing both legs toward your chest and stretching the back of the thigh = pain. According to a physical therapist I went to see for this, sitting at a desk should be on a draft-like chair angled 45 degrees to the ground (forward tilt). To prevent tightening of the hamstrings and legs in general. It could be a matter of adjustment of your current chair or you could get one of these 3 models modway articulate ; alera elusion multifunction high back ; alpha home ergonomic or something like a herman miller but supposedly they're not that great for the price. Ideally you get a chance to try them in a show-room and see what fits your size.
Minimal/no pain when performing that exercise. The pain is on the outside of my thigh, at around 2 o'clock if 12 is oriented straight ahead the way my eyeballs face.
Well I don't know then, probably hamstring muscles putting pressure on the sciatica nerve. One exercise that felt very satisfying was a deep stretch of the thigh by simply lying down and lifting the leg straight, holding it and pushing it toward your chest at the limit of it being painful.
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