New Chiropractic Patients
Sciatica can be a real pain in the backside (no pun intended)! Let’s look at what you can do to help manage the symptoms.
Sciatica is cause by some form of pressure or tension on the sciatic nerve. The issue could be coming right from where the nerve starts (in your lower back) or at any point along the whole length of the nerve, from your buttock all the way down to your foot. It is one of the longest nerves in the body!
If the nerve is irritated, you’ll likely get some pain in your lower back, into the buttock and sometimes pain down the back of the leg, all the way into the calf and/ or foot. The nerve also branches into the front of the shin, which may also be affected.
Our favourite, most simple self-helps tips is to take some the pressure off! The discs in our spine act as spacers, creating room between our vertebra for the nerves to exit. So, by helping the discs to keep effective spacing, some of the pressure has to be taken off our nerves. We load (compress) the discs in our spine a whopping 10x more when seated versus when standing. A simple way to help relieve some of the symptoms is to regularly go on a short walk, to change position from sitting or staying still. When you sit still for too long and load the discs in the lower back, the sciatic nerve can be irritated even more.
Another great tip is movement. Arching and rounding the lower back, fairly regularly whilst experiencing sciatic pain can help relieve some of the intensity. Not everyone will find the same position comfortable, but alternatively you can try this movement when standing, seated, lying on your front or back or side.
The idea is to explore how your body moves WITHOUT provoking the pain. Try and find the position that you are most comfortable in and keep returning there. Usually, the less painful position, the safer, at that time, for your body.
One more thing… nerve flossing! It’s good for your teeth and it’s also good for your nerves! Nerves do not like being stretched beyond there comfortable limit, at ALL. When experiencing sciatica, one of the worst things you can do is stretch, this will likely make the pain worse (not what we’re going for here). Flossing the nerves acts as a gently gliding movement of the nerve to increase then decrease the tensional state.
Lay on your back and bring one knee towards your chest, with the knee bent towards your chest, and the other leg straight on the floor.
Hold the back of your hamstring just under the knee (if you can’t reach try using a towel under the bent legs knee, and hold this with your hands)
Gently extend the knee, straightening the leg towards the ceiling and ease it back down towards the floor.
Never go to the point of pain
You want to work this movement within a comfortable range
Heal > Adapt > Evolve
