Exercises For Sciatica Problems

When it strikes, sciatica may cause excruciating and debilitating pain that begins in your lower back and runs down your leg. While symptoms of the condition often disappear with time, exercise helps to relieve pain and prevent flare-ups. If you experience signs of sciatica, your doctor can work with you to identify the cause to develop an exercise program that's right for you.

Causes and Symptoms

Sciatica is not a disorder but often a symptom of an underlying medical condition. A telltale symptom of sciatica is pain that runs along the sciatic nerve in your lower back to your buttocks and down the back of your thigh into your leg. Other signs of the condition, including numbness, a "pins and needles" sensation and burning or tingling down your leg, occur when the sciatic nerve is squeezed, inflamed, irritated or stretched. Causes may include aging, trauma to the sciatic nerve, a spinal tumor and increased pressure on your back from obesity and pregnancy. Sciatica may also result from a fast twisting movement of your back, after lifting a heavy object, or from spinal diseases, arthritis, osteoporosis and a herniated disk.

Importance of Exercise

An estimated 80 to 90 percent of people with sciatica get better without the need for surgery, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Non-surgical treatments, including exercise, help to ease the pain and discomfort from sciatica and prevent a recurrence of symptoms. Exercise strengthens muscles supporting your back, improves flexibility and reduces inflammation, pain and stress on your back. Movement from exercise also aids in the exchange of nutrients and fluids within the discs in your back to keep them healthy, Spine-Health.com adds. Inactivity weakens your back muscles, worsening sciatica and causing additional pain.

Types of Exercise

The type of exercise program your doctor recommends will differ depending on the cause of your sciatic pain. In general, a sciatica exercise program includes low-impact aerobic exercises, hamstring stretching and stretching and strengthening of core muscles, Spine-Health.com notes.

Low-impact aerobic exercises, which include brisk walking or swimming, improve fitness levels and strengthen muscles. Hamstring stretching relieves stress on the lower back, Spine-Health.com adds. Strengthening and stretching of core muscles, comprising those in the abdomen, back and buttocks, reduce strain on the disks in your back, stabilize the spine and improve strength and mobility. Strengthening exercises may include pelvic tilts and abdominal curls, while stretching exercises may include knee-to-chest stretches while lying flat, leg stretches and a hip and quadriceps stretch, "The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook" notes.

Expert Advice

If you are suffering from a sciatica flare-up, rest for up to two days before beginning any exercise, Spine-Health.com recommends. Beginning slowly with low-impact exercise can help you stay active without aggravating your symptoms. As your pain lessens, you may begin a twice-daily full exercise program that will help to reduce pain and prevent a recurrence of sciatica. Consult your doctor for the right exercises.

Warning

Speak to your doctor before beginning any exercise to treat sciatica. Doing the wrong exercises or not exercising properly may worsen your condition, Spine-Health.com advises. MayoClinic.com recommends that you see your doctor to design an exercise program that's safe and effective.