End Sciatic Pain With Exercise

Exercise is important for overall health, but when it comes to back pain, there are certain areas you need to be sure to address. The areas that affect the back include: the abdominals, the back extensors, the quadriceps and hamstrings of the thigh, the hip and buttock muscles. To have balance you should strengthen all the muscles of the body, but those mentioned above have a direct effect on spinal support.

One treatment for sciatica pain is to strengthen your abdominal and back muscles through simple exercises. The stronger these muscles are, the less your spine has to carry the weight of most of your body. Make sure to consult a doctor, certified athletic trainer, or a chiropractor who can give you advice on the right exercises for you.

It is important to seek the assistance of a medical professional before you start treating your sciatica pain. Proper diagnosis of the cause of pain is imperative so that you undergo the right sort of treatment. There are times that sciatica can be caused by a tumor or an infection that requires a different mode of action than sciatica from a herniated disk or piriformis impingement. You also want to make sure you adopt the correct exercises and that you are doing them correctly. Doing the right exercise with bad form or execution can make your back pain even worse.

You want to remain active when your sciatic pain flares up. As tempting as bed rest is, staying active is the better medicine. Bed rest can result in the muscles becoming weak from lack of use and this can happen rapidly, in just a matter of a day or two. Your back pain will become even worse if you allow your muscles to weaken so it is imperative that you remain active even when your pain flares up. You need to take care and not strain yourself or over exert yourself, but remain active.

The piriformis muscle is a very important muscle when it comes to sciatica nerve pain. This muscle is located deep to the gluteal muscles, the sciatic nerve runs right through this muscle. If this muscle is tight and inflexible it will put pressure on the nerve causing pain. Foam roller exercises for the hip and buttocks can help to strengthen and stretch this area.

An easy stretch for the piriformis muscles is to lie on your back, bend your legs at a 45 degree angle with your knees over your hips. Place your right ankle over you left knee, then pull your left thigh in towards you stretching the right hip and glutes. Try to hold the stretch for a minute then repeat on the opposite side. If you feel pressure in the knee of the side being stretched, use one hand to cup that knee and help take some of the pressure off. This stretch should not be painful.

Most types of sciatica will also benefit from a regular routine of hamstring stretching. Hamstrings are the muscles that are located in the back of the thigh. When they are overly tight, they can increase the stress on your lower back, which often aggravates or can even cause some of the conditions that result in sciatica.

Walking is an excellent form of exercise that is low impact and helps to strengthen the abs (which should be held in slightly as you walk), your back, your buttocks (which you should squeeze with each step), your hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and shins. Try walking for at least 30 minutes a day at a comfortable pace, picking up the pace as you progress in your level of fitness.

Adopting a regular exercise routine that strengthens and stretches all the major muscles of the body will help to ease your sciatic pain as well as lessen the amount of flare ups you experience over time. The important thing here is that you must stay consistent with your exercise program. If you stop your program once you sciatica nerve pain is gone, you will eventually start suffering from flare ups after the muscles have once again weakened.

Don’t suffer with sciatica nerve pain for another day. To learn more on how to treat sciatica now please visit my web page.