Relieve sciatica pain and prevent future flare-ups by stretching and strengthening your lower back, abdominal, and thigh muscles with these 3 simple exercises.

References

• 1.Jandre Reis FJ, Macedo AR. Influence of Hamstring Tightness in Pelvic, Lumbar and Trunk Range of Motion in Low Back Pain and Asymptomatic Volunteers during Forward Bending. Asian Spine J. 2015;9(4):535–540. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522442/
• 2.Slater J, Kolber MJ, Schellhase KC, et al. The Influence of Exercise on Perceived Pain and Disability in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2015;10(2):136–147. Published 2015 Feb 16. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6125093/

Yoga can be an effective, low-impact therapy to find sciatica relief. Here are 4 easy and effective yoga stretches to help strengthen your core, hip, and lower spine.

References

• 1.Rathore M, Trivedi S, Abraham J, Sinha MB. Anatomical Correlation of Core Muscle Activation in Different Yogic Postures. Int J Yoga. 2017;10(2):59–66. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433114/
• 2.Monro R, Bhardwaj AK, Gupta RK, Telles S, Allen B, Little P. Disc extrusions and bulges in nonspecific low back pain and sciatica: Exploratory randomised controlled trial comparing yoga therapy and normal medical treatment. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2015;28(2):383-92. doi: 10.3233/BMR-140531
• 3.Chang DG, Holt JA, Sklar M, Groessl EJ. Yoga as a treatment for chronic low back pain: A systematic review of the literature. J Orthop Rheumatol. 2016;3(1):1–8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878447/
• 4.Saper RB, Sherman KJ, Cullum-Dugan D, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Culpepper L. Yoga for chronic low back pain in a predominantly minority population: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Altern Ther Health Med. 2009;15(6):18–27. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792123/
• 5.Dacci P, Amadio S, Gerevini S, et al. Practice of yoga may cause damage of both sciatic nerves: a case report. Neurol Sci. 2013;34(3):393-6. Doi: 10.1007/s10072-012-0998-9

Here are 3 easy tips to help you get started with an exercise program to relieve sciatica pain.

References

• 1.Kim EJ, Choi YD, Lim CY, Kim KH, Lee SD. Effect of heating and cooling combination therapy on patients with chronic low back pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2015;16:285. Published 2015 Jun 26. doi:10.1186/s13063-015-0800-4
• 2.Malanga GA, Yan N, Stark J. Mechanisms and efficacy of heat and cold therapies for musculoskeletal injury. Postgraduate Medicine. 2014;127(1):57-65. doi:10.1080/00325481.2015.992719
• 3.Mu W, Shang Y, Mo Z, Tang S. Comparison of two types of exercises in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. Pak J Med Sci. 2018;34(4):897–900. doi:10.12669/pjms.344.15296
• 4.Pourahmadi MR, Taghipour M, Ebrahimi Takamjani I, Sanjari MA, Mohseni-Bandpei MA, Keshtkar AA. Motor control exercise for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2016;6(9):e012426. Published 2016 Sep 27. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012426
• 5.Belavý DL, Albracht K, Bruggemann G-P, Vergroesen P-PA, van Dieën JH. Can Exercise Positively Influence the Intervertebral Disc? Sports Medicine. 2015;46(4):473-485. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0444-2

Specific yoga poses targeting the spine can help reduce the severity of scoliosis, improving spinal posture and balance. Here are 4 easy yoga poses that can be tried at home.

References

• 1.Park YH, Park YS, Lee YT, et al. The effect of a core exercise program on Cobb angle and back muscle activity in male students with functional scoliosis: a prospective, randomized, parallel-group, comparative study. J Int Med Res. 2016;44(3):728–734. doi:10.1177/0300060516639750

Learn specific techniques and exercises for relief from sciatica during your workday—helping you to focus on your work and get your mind off your back and leg pain.

References

• 1.Davis D, Maini K, Vasudevan A. Sciatica. [Updated 2020 Jan 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507908/
• 2.Haugen AJ, Grøvle L, Brox JI, et al. Estimates of success in patients with sciatica due to lumbar disc herniation depend upon outcome measure. Eur Spine J. 2011;20(10):1669–1675. doi:10.1007/s00586-011-1809-3
• 3.Xiang A, Xu M, Liang Y, Wei J, Liu S. Immediate relief of herniated lumbar disc-related sciatica by ankle acupuncture: A study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017;96(51):e9191. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000009191
• 4.Amin RM, Andrade NS, Neuman BJ. Lumbar Disc Herniation. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2017;10(4):507–516. doi:10.1007/s12178-017-9441-4
• 5.Hendrick P, Te Wake AM, Tikkisetty AS, Wulff L, Yap C, Milosavljevic S. The effectiveness of walking as an intervention for low back pain: a systematic review. Eur Spine J. 2010;19(10):1613–1620. doi:10.1007/s00586-010-1412-z

Walking is a simple, low-impact exercise that can help relieve your sciatica. Follow these two tips to maintain good posture while walking and avoid further irritation of your sciatic nerve roots.

References

• 1.Khan MS, Charissis V, Sakellariou S. Exploring the Development Requirements for Virtual Reality Gait Analysis. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. 2019;3(2):24. doi:10.3390/mti3020024
• 2.Kuai S, Liao Z, Zhou W, et al. The Effect of Lumbar Disc Herniation on Musculoskeletal Loadings in the Spinal Region During Level Walking and Stair Climbing. Med Sci Monit. 2017;23:3869–3877. Published 2017 Aug 10. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5562184/
• 3.Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al. The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. Published 2017 Jun 6. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5455070/

If you have sciatica, you may have never considered that your tight hamstrings might be a contributing factor. Learn two easy hamstring stretches that may help alleviate your sciatica symptoms

References

• 1.Hasebe K, Okubo Y, Kaneoka K, Takada K, Suzuki D, Sairyo K. The effect of dynamic stretching on hamstrings flexibility with respect to the spino-pelvic rhythm. The Journal of Medical Investigation. 2016;63(1.2):85-90. doi:10.2152/jmi.63.85

[AD|body|top|0,length=|2000|]

Most people take the action of walking for granted and don’t realize that they might not be walking correctly.

[IMG|2,play,pin,url=|Video: 2 Walking Tips to Avoid Sciatica Pain|]

Proper walking posture is important for people with sciatica as improper posture can aggravate sciatica symptoms. Watch our Video: 2 Walking Tips to Avoid Sciatica Pain

References

• 1.Czaprowski D, Stoliński Ł, Tyrakowski M, Kozinoga M, Kotwicki T. Non-structural misalignments of body posture in the sagittal plane. Scoliosis Spinal Disord. 2018;13:6. Published 2018 Mar 5. doi:10.1186/s13013-018-0151-5

Pain from degenerative disc disease can be debilitating, but you have options. Exercise, over-the-counter pain medications, lifestyle changes, and surgery are all valid ways to control degenerative disc disease pain.

References

• 1.Minori J, Wieseltier E, Lie-Nemeth, T. Pain in the orthopedic rehabilitation patient. In: Carayannopoulos A, Comprehensive Pain Management in the Rehabilitation Patient. Springer International Publishing; 2017:69.
• 2.Haider NR, Skiechs J. Carayannopoulos A. Pain in the spine rehabilitation patient. In: Carayannopoulos A, Comprehensive Pain Management in the Rehabilitation Patient. Springer International Publishing; 2017:119.
• 3.Gordon R, Bloxham S. A systematic review of the effects of exercise and physical activity on non-specific chronic low back pain. Healthcare (Basel). 2016; 4(2):22.
• 4.Mulcahy AE. Carayannopoulos A. Manual therapy and pain in the rehabilitation patient. In: Carayannopoulos A, Comprehensive Pain Management in the Rehabilitation Patient. Springer International Publishing; 2017:319.