Two Important Sciatica Stretching Exercises for Sciatic Pain Relief

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Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Sciatica, best-known as sciatic nerve pain, can be a disabling illness that can really degrade your quality of life if left untreated.Sciatic nerve stretching exercises can provide relief to your pain, but it is important to first comprehend the potential causes of sciatica.

Sciatica is essentially damage to the sciatic nerve that’s triggered by pinching of
the nerve from tight muscles, or tension being placed on the nerve. The sciatic nerve starts in your lower back area, and runs 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, these overly tight muscles indicate the weakness of the surrounding muscles, and this is thought to be the most common cause of sciatic pain. Sciatica stretches and regular sciatica exercises can really assist to overcome this, and alleviate your numbing nerve pain.

Another thing that can cause sciatic nerve damage is occupations such as truck driving, where you are sitting for long periods of time, and being bounced around at the same time, which applies pressure and stress on the sciatic nerve. A herniated lumbar disc can also cause sciatic nerve pain, which then it would be better to avoid sciatica stretches without speaking to your doctor first, as this could end up harming your sciatic nerve further.

Try one of these simple exercises to help you find out which type of sciatica you may be suffering from. Sit in a chair and try stretching the leg with the side you’re having pain on, out straight.If your pain increases, most likely true sciatica is to blame, and you have 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 2 easy Sciatica nerve stretches you can do in order to get relief from your sciatica depending on which type you may be suffering from. 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 stretch out tight hamstrings. Be careful though, because if you suffer from a herniated disc than this exercise can aggravate it.

The second stretching exercise you can perform is a yoga technique, where you lie flat on your tummy, and proper yourself up on your elbows while looking up slightly. This creates a slight curve in your lower spine and helps to relieve pressure and pain. But again, be careful, because if your sciatica is caused by a facet syndrome, this can worsen it.

Also, sometimes this might aggravate your pain temporarily, but it usually improves with repetition, and it is ideal to get up and move around for a while in between repetitions, and take a break. These sciatica exercises are supposed to help you, but always use good judgment and caution when performing them.

Another thing to keep in mind is that sciatica can be caused by several 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 extending your back like the yoga exercise from before can actually increase your pain and exacerbatethe problems. In that case it is usually suggested to lie 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 the absolute best thing you can do is to see your physician before performing any Sciatica stretching exercises, and find out precisely where the cause of the pain is originating from, is the safest and wisest route to take.They have the ability to then refer you to a specialist that will help you do the proper exercises relevant to your particular case.

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