3 Straightforward and Easy Stretching Exercises to Help With Sciatica
One of the best ways to alleviate the agony of Sciatica is with stretching exercises. Since most examples of Sciatica stem from muscular imbalances or slumping posture (which frequently ends up in muscle imbalances over time), stretching can help you to balance weak muscles and release the stress to tight or contracted muscles.
Here are a couple of the most effective stretching exercises for Sciatica that I’ve encountered.
Piriformis Stretch - Your Piriformis is a muscle found deep within your pelvis. If it becomes too tight it can clamp down on your Sciatic nerve and cause discomfort in your hips or bum. This stretch will provide help to release the Piriformis.
Sit on the floor with both feet flat on the floor in front of you and knees bent. If you are feeling pain on your left side, take your left leg and cross it over your right leg. Then grab your left leg with your arms and hug it close to your chest.
When you do this, you may feel a stretching sensation in your buttocks. This is your Piriformis muscle. Hold this pose so long as you feel comfortable doing so and repeat daily until the discomfort subsides.
Cobra Stretch - We frequently spend the majority of our days sitting, and many of us do not have good posture while we do it. This can lead to muscles that naturally pull us forward and encourage us to slouch and cause back stiffness. This yoga pose helps to pull your muscles in the other direction and can undo some of the effects of sitting all day.
To try this stretch, lie on the floor on your belly. Then simply place your hands on the floor at roughly chest-level and then lift your upper body off the ground. Think of this as slowly peeling your torso off of the floor. Lean your head back while keeping your hips and legs flat on the floor. This stretch will help to open up your back and stretch the muscles that sometimes make you slouch forward.
Swan Dive and Flat Back - Another problem that appears to cause Sciatica is when the Sciatic nerve gets pinched or caught somewhere along its course through the body. This next yoga stretch essentially tightens the nerve and can pull it free of any type of kink that it might have gotten stuck in.
Begin by standing with your back straight and your feet together on the floor. Now raise up your hands above your head and touch them together with elbows straight. Then lower your arms and bend at your hips to touch your feet.
If you are like most folks, you won’t really be able to touch your feet. At least not at the moment , anyhow. Also try and keep your back flat and straight. It is more important to keep your back flat and straight than it is to touch your toes. If you go on with this over the passage of time your pliability will increase and you may eventually be flexable enough to touch your toes. You should feel this stretch in your lumbar region and hips.
These 3 stretching exercises will help you loosen up your Sciatic nerve and relieve the discomfort you are feeling. These do take a little time, in general, to notice any results so stick with them for a few weeks when necessary, and you’ll find your discomfort falling away.
If you’d like to learn more about Piriformis Syndrome symptoms, a common cause of sciatica, please read this article on sciatic nerve relief for more.
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