Two Important Sciatica Stretching Exercises for Sciatic Pain Relief
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Sciatica, best-known as sciatic nerve pain, can be a dreadful illness that can really degrade your quality of life if remained untreated.Sciatica nerve stretches can really help you on your road to becoming pain free, but first you need to understand how sciatica is caused.
Basically, sciatica is nerve damage that has been triggered by either stress, or tight muscles pinching the nerve.The sciatic nerve begins in your lower back area, and travels down, through the buttock area, and down through the hamstring and the back of your leg. So, when you have overly tight hamstrings, that can trigger pain in your sciatic nerve.
Generally tight muscles indicate a weakness in other muscles in the
surrounding area, and that is the most common cause of sciatica.You can combat this, and ease the painful nerve by regular sciatica stretches.
Sciatic nerve damage can also be triggered by job stressors such as truck driving for long periods of time. The constant bouncing applies stress on the sciatic nerve. A herniated lumbar disc can also cause sciatica, which then it would be better to avoid sciatica stretches without consulting your physician first, as this could end up harming your sciatic nerve further.
In order to decide the type of sciatica you may be suffering from, try this simple exercise. Sitting upright in a chair, stretch your leg that you are having pain in, straight out. If this aggravates your sciatic pain, chances are you are suffering from true sciatica related to a herniated disk.Another test that is helpful in determining where your sciatica is originating from, is gently pulling your knee on your painful side, to your shoulder on the same side. Then gently pull the same knee to the opposite shoulder, and gauge the pain. If it is significantly more painful pulling to the opposite shoulder, tight muscles are the most likely culprit for your sciatica.
Here are two simple Sciatic nerve stretching exercisesyou can perform for sciatic pain relief: The first one you perform the same exercise as listed above under the test exercises, but you do it lying down on your back. This can help to stretch out overly tight hamstrings. Be careful though as this can exacerbate a herniated disc problem.
The second stretch is based on yoga exercises. Lie flat on your tummy and push up on your elbows, looking up and breathing deeply. This creates a slight curve in your lower spine and helps to relieve pressure and pain. However again, be careful as this can aggravate a facet problem that could be inducing your sciatica.
Also, sometimes this may increase your pain temporarily, but it usually improves with repetition, and it is best to get up and walk around for a bit in between repetitions, and take a break. Both of these sciatica exercises can help you heal, as long as you do them a couple times a day for as long as you feel nerve pain or numbness, and there are no other causes of your sciatica you are unaware of.
One thing to consider is that sciatica can be caused by various factors at once. Herniated disc’s, facet syndrome which I mentioned briefly before, tight muscles. Facet syndrome involves rear joints at the base of
your spine, and stretching your back like the yoga exercise from before can actually increase your pain and aggravatethe problems. In such case it is normally recommended to lie flat on your back and hug your knees. However if you are also suffering from a herniated disc, then hugging your knees isn’t recommended. Therefore, to consult your doctor before starting any Sciatica stretching exercises, and find out exactly where the cause of the pain is originating from, is the safest and wisest path to take.They can then refer you to a therapist that will help you do the proper exercises relevant to your particular case.
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