Sciatica Exercises Tips

Posts Tagged ‘sciatic exercise’

There are as many Sciatic exercise methods as there are causes for sciatica pain.  In this article I’d like to focus on one type of exercise which will most likely be one of the more beneficial to your sciatica.  Warm water exercises for sciatic pain.  Though while having an acute injury warmth is to be avoided and cold needs to be applied, once the healing process has started warm water is highly beneficial in several ways.

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Soaking in warm water helps you to relax, increases the circulation and helps loosening up tightened muscles; it also helps speeding up the healing process.  It returns some mobility to you, since the warmth makes the muscles more pliable.  It is a good idea to soak in warm water for a while before starting to do sciatica pain exercises (don’t go too long, so your body won’t overheat).

Now that you are nicely relaxed you could do some water exercises, which will be much easier to do than regular sciatic pain exercises since being suspended in water takes most of the pressure of your spine, disks, joints, ligaments and muscles; it also lessens the pain of some of the exercises and the fear of pain, which in itself can cause you to tense up.

The resistance of the water will make your muscles work harder while at the same time reducing impact and stress for the rest of your body.  Even just walking or marching in water can help reduce muscle spasms and pain.

Warm water exercises and water exercises in general are a good starting point for sciatica exercises altogether after an acute sciatica flare up and many other causes of back pain.  Warm water exercises are some of the most beneficial exercises since they combine the reduction of inflammation due to increased circulation and the strengthening of the muscles that you will need to keep your back and sciatica nerve in good health.

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Aside from water exercises there are all kinds of other exercises you can gradually “grow into”, but before doing any kind of exercises (now that you have consulted your physician and know which exercises to perform), always start with a warm up routine for at least 5 minutes.  That could be a short walk, even walking in place or the use of an exercise bike.

In the beginning you will probably only be doing gentle back stretching exercises and then gradually extend into back and abdomen strength building and balancing exercises.  You should also add some low impact aerobics to your routine at some point.  If you find a good balance of all these exercises you will use a wide variety of muscle groups, which in turn will assure the prevention of future flare ups.

So in short:  Sciatica and sciatic exercises belong together, if you want to see long term relief from your painful sciatica symptoms.  Always consult your back specialist before starting to exercise or self-treat your symptoms and causes, so you know for sure what you can, should and shouldn’t do.

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Sciatic Exercise may not sound like the most appealing step to take to heal your sciatica, but nevertheless, will probably play a significant role in a long term solution of your problem.  Sciatica can be maddeningly painful, but if you’ve come to this page, you most likely already know that.

Click here if you are looking for a practical and fast way to rid yourself of your sciatica pain.

Generally speaking one main focus of most sciatica exercises to deal with this type of pain is the strengthening of the abdominal and back muscles.  The stronger they are, the less your spine needs to carry its own weight (plus that of most of the body).  Regular gentle strength building and stretching exercises usually help you to recover faster from an acute flare up.  They also help prevent further sciatic pain episodes.

It is always recommendable to get help from a professional who treats sciatica pain, such as a physical therapist, physiatrist or other kind of spine specialist.  Once you know the exact cause of your sciatica pain they can show you the specific exercises to help your particular case.  It is recommended that exercises for specific causes of sciatica pain must be regular (twice a day) and must be done correctly.  Correct posture and execution are vital to get the most from your exercise for sciatica.

When suffering from acute sciatica pain, getting back to your normal activities is more helpful than bed rest for more than two days or starting to exercise too soon.  If you are having an acute flare up, it its better to wait with sciatic pain exercise until most of the pain is gone, except maybe for some very careful stretching exercises.  Though do maintain your daily activities since too much bed rest will weaken your muscles and that in turn will delay your healing process.

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Increase activity bit by bit.  Start with walking around the house for a little while and increase a little daily.  Start with gentle stretching exercises to increase circulation in your muscles, which will help them to heal faster, will relieve the pain and tightness of the muscles and it also helps you with mobility.

To loosen up your muscles and ease the pain it might be a good idea to take a warm bath or shower before starting your sciatic nerve pain exercise.  This also makes the exercises easier to do.  You could even do the exercises in the tub, since warm water increases circulation, helps to the muscles to relax and even speeds up the healing process.  Wait with strength building exercises until the pain is gone or when your doctor recommends it.  Exercises that put pressure on your lower back are to be avoided.  It is best to consult a physical therapist to see which particular exercises you can do.

In short, don’t stay in bed too long.  Get back to your normal activities as soon as you possibly can.  Consult your doctor about the cause for your sciatica pain and a physical therapist for the kind of sciatic exercise you should be doing.  Start with gentle stretching exercises and wait with strength building exercises until the pain is gone or until your doctor recommends.

Click here if you are looking for a practical and fast way to rid yourself of your sciatica pain.

To give you a little context, the sciatic nerve runs from the lower spine through the pelvis and the buttocks, through the back of the leg all the way down to your foot.  There is a whole list of causes for sciatica pain, starting with herniated disks in the lumbar spine, over spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis of the spine and hard to pronounce conditions like spondylolisthesis to strained muscles.  Today I’d like to focus on sciatic nerve exercises.

Now one word of advice, especially when it comes to nerves and spine and such:  See your doctor to make sure what causes your sciatica pain before starting any kind of sciatica exercise, because exercises for sciatic nerve pain that may get you great relief for one cause of sciatica pain may aggravate another cause.  So know what you are dealing with, before you actively go about the dealing part.

Going consciously about the way you move, carry, sit, lie down, get up etc. needs to become part of your life style; and so do the regular exercises for sciatica.  Learn the right techniques to lifting and maintaining good posture.  Always have your lower back supported when sitting and avoid prolonged periods of time standing up, and when you have to, do it right, shifting from foot to foot periodically and trying to keep one foot a little elevated on a box or such.

Start a regular routine of exercises only after consulting you back specialist, so you’ll do the ones that’ll actually do you some good and won’t make you worse.

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Sciatica exercises, that just doesn’t sound right.  I’m in pain, what do you mean – exercises?  While it is true that sciatic exercises during the first couple of days during an acute flare-up of sciatica pain are probably not a good idea, we need to be careful not to put them off for too long.  Sciatic nerve pain exercises are usually better for your healing process than bed rest.   Muscles start to atrophy fast and prolonged inactivity or bed rest (more than a couple of days) may even worsen your condition.  If muscles aren’t being used they get weak.  When they get weak they don’t hold up your skeletal structure, particularly your spine.  When the spine doesn’t have adequate support from the muscles surrounding it, pressure on the disks and the nerves increases, resulting in more pain.

Careful exercises, like stretching, warm water exercises and such help to increase blood circulation and that in turn will speed up the healing process and return mobility to you.  So even though exercise for sciatic pain may not sound like a logical step to take, you might really want to consider them after the initial pain has calmed down to get back on your feet, where you belong.

Click here if you are looking for a practical and fast way to rid yourself of your sciatica pain.