The sciatic nerve -- the widest and longest nerve in the human body -- serves the muscles in the leg and foot, as well as almost all the skin on the leg. It runs from the lower back, through the buttock and down the leg. Sciatic pain or discomfort arises when either the nerve itself or one of its five nerve roots in the spine are compressed or irritated. Pain may manifest in the leg, hip, buttock, or lower back as shooting pain, tingling, muscular weakness, or numbness. Although sciatic pain may be treated and/or cured with complementary medicine or with surgery, exercises should be performed before resorting to more extreme measures. These exercises help relieve current pain and help prevent recurrence of the sciatic pain.
Hamstring Stretches
When the hamstring muscles are tight, sciatic pain often flares up. Perform hamstring stretches to loosen the muscles and relieve stress on the sciatic nerve. Sit on the floor with your legs out straight in front of you. Stretch your arms out and reach toward your toes while keeping the legs straight. Hold for five to 10 seconds then return to starting position. Repeat three to five times.
Supine Piriformis Stretch #1
Lie flat on your back on the floor and raise the leg on the side opposite that which is affected. Place the affected leg so that is crossed over the bent knee and crosses the knee at the ankle on the affected leg. Grasp the bent leg just behind the knee and slowly pull toward the chest, so that a stretch is felt in the affected leg.
Supine Piriformis Stretch #2
Start on all fours with the foot across and under the body so that the leg with the pain is on the outside of the body. Extend the non-painful leg straight back. Keep the affected leg in the original position, move the hips back toward the floor and put all the weight on the forearms. You should feel a deep stretch on the affected leg. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Return to starting position and repeat for a total of three stretches.
Caution
If you experience what you think is sciatic pain, see a doctor or chiropractor. He or she may have other exercise recommendations. Never self-diagnose sciatic pain as there might be some other spinal injury causing the pain.
References
- "Sciatica Solutions: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Cure of Spinal and Piriformis Problems"; Loren Fishmand MD and Carol Ardman; 2006.
- "Relieving Sciatica: Using Complementary Medicine to Overcome the Pain of Sciatica"; Larry P. Credit, Sharon G. Hartunian, Margaret J. Nowak; 2000.
- MedlinePlus - Sciatica
