Exercises to Relieve Sciatica and Low Back Pain

As a Seattle Chiropractor, I see a number of patients each week suffering from low back pain and sciatica. Many times I find the problem is caused by habits and postures more often than an actual accident. I really like this post by Dr. Mercola about exercises to relieve sciatica and low back pain. Check it out.

Stretching exercises can help reduce sciatic pain. Your sciatic nerve runs through your piriformis, a muscle located deep in your glutes. If the piriformis gets too tight, it can impinge the sciatic nerve, causing pain, tingling, and numbness in your leg. Sometimes, stretching your piriformis may be enough to reduce the pain. Four exercises to try include the following.

Piriformis stretch
Seated hip stretch
Pigeon pose
Self-trigger point therapy using a tennis ball or foam roller

Avoiding Sitting May Be Part of the Long-Term Solution for Back Pain

While maintaining proper posture when sitting can be helpful for avoiding pain in a variety of different areas, including your back, neck, and shoulders, an even better solution may be to avoid sitting altogether. I struggled with persistent back pain for many years despite seeing many chiropractors, stretches and strengthening exercises, laser treatments, grounding, massage, and using an inversion table. It wasn’t until I decided to experiment with standing as much as possible that I noticed significant improvement.

Paradoxically, standing initially would cause pain and it was difficult for me to stand in an hour lecture without pretty severe back pain. But by reducing my 12 to 14 hours of daily sitting to under one hour, my back pain vanished. Now I typically sit for less than 30 minutes a day and have been free of low back pain for many months.

I stand most of the day on a 2 foot by 4 foot cushioned grounding pad that I designed. If you have a desk job, I highly recommend investing in a stand-up desk. I’m so convinced of the benefits of standing up rather than sitting down that I’m in the process of providing employees at my office with stand-up desks, and cushioned grounding pads once we have them available.

This is part and parcel of the evidence that the human body was built for more or less continuous movement — not consistent strenuous activity, but gentle non-exercise activity, and this includes simply standing. In other words, your body ceases to function properly when it is too still for too long. The evidence suggests sitting for just one consecutive hour is too long. Ideally, sitting should break up your movement, not the other way around.

Other Strategies for Preventing Back Pain

Preventing back pain is surely easier than treating it, and there are many alternatives available, in addition to what I’ve already mentioned above. Here are a dozen more tips that can help you lead a pain-free life:

Exercise and physical activity will help strengthen the muscles of your spine. Make your exercise time count by including high-intensity sessions. You probably only need this once or twice a week at the most. You’ll also want to include exercises that really challenge your body intensely along with those that promote muscle strength, balance, and flexibility.

Yoga, which is particularly useful for promoting flexibility and core muscles, has also been proven beneficial if you suffer with back pain. The Yoga Journal has an online page demonstrating specific poses that may be helpful.
Mind your posture If you spend many hours every day sitting down, pay careful attention to minding your posture.

When standing, keep your weight spread evenly on your feet, and don’t slouch when standing or sitting to avoid putting stress on your back muscles. Always support your back, and avoid bending over awkwardly. Protect your back while lifting – this activity, along with carrying, puts the most stress on your back.

Foundation Training exercises are also excellent, as they work to gradually pull your body out of the movement patterns that are hurting you. The focus is on strengthening your core, which helps stabilize your spine, vertebrae, discs, and pelvis.
Optimize your vitamin D and K2 levels to prevent the softening of the bones that can often lead to lower back pain.
Address psychological factors. Few people want to be told that their pain is psychological or emotional in origin, but there’s quite a bit of evidence that backs this up. Dr. John Sarno for example, used mind-body techniques to treat patients with severe low back pain and has authored a number of books on this topic.

His specialty was those who have already had surgery for low back pain and did not get any relief. This is one tough group of patients, yet he had a greater than 80 percent success rate using techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (he has now retired from practice).
K-Laser treatment Infrared laser therapy treatment helps reduce pain, reduce inflammation, and enhance tissue healing — both in hard and soft tissues, including muscles, ligaments, or even bones. These benefits are the result of enhanced microcirculation, as the treatment stimulates red blood cell flow in the treatment area. Venous and lymphatic return is also enhanced, as is oxygenation of those tissues.

The infrared wavelengths used in the K-Laser allow for targeting specific areas of your body. The K-Laser is unique in that it is the only Class 4 therapy laser that utilizes the appropriate infrared wavelengths that allow for deep penetration into the body to reach areas such as your spine and hip.
Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water to enhance the height of your intervertebral discs. Because your body is composed mostly of water, keeping yourself hydrated will also keep you fluid and reduce stiffness.
Avoid smoking. Smoking reduces blood flow to your lower spine and promotes degeneration of your spinal disks.
Pay attention to how — and how long — you sleep. Studies have linked insufficient sleep with increased back and neck problems. Also pay attention to your sleep position. Sleep on your side to reduce curving of your spine, and stretch before getting out of bed. A firm bed is recommended.

This article was originally posted here.

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