John,

Glad to hear that things are better. I agree with most of the recommendations here, all of them have helped various people I've known.

As a massage therapist I have worked with several modalities-- I think the Sciatic cure you were told about is probably a Trigger Point in the piriformis muscle, which muscle can cause constriction of the sciatic nerve and hence the pain.. Trigger point work can be very effective, but I suggest seeing a rolfer or structural therapist, who can anayze your posture as part of the therapy to see where else you are tight and work the appropriate tissues. As somebody said it's not always the area of pain that is the problem .Treating the whole body will often fix it for good as long as you don't do yourself an injury. It is very likely that your problem stems from an injury earlier in life that has affected your posture in general, especially when you are running.

As to glucosamine-- if you are a Blood Type O (or even B) you may be having difficulty with wheat, there is a lectin in wheat that causes arthritic like conditions in many people with Blood Type O, and glucosamine blocks the activity of that lectin. I know that when I began having severe joint pain it went away spontaneously two weeks after I went on the Blood Type diet. (As an O I stopped doing wheat, but also dairy, which is another trigger for arthritis and other autoimmune problems for some Os). I had been having continuos pain for about 4 months previos to trying the diet. If you want to try t, the best book is the newest one out called Live Right for Your Type. It includes all the scientific studies they've done, and lots of case histories. It's cheaper than the supplements and helped me improve a lot of other health problems I was having. I have way more energy now too.

Good luck!

Bekki