Lower Back Pain Relief Exercises For Sciatica

Lower back pain occurs in the area of lumbar spine. This region of your body is an extraordinarily well-engineered construction of nerves, ligaments, joints, bones and muscles, all working together to provide support and flexibility.

Improper and poor body posture, sedentary life, or physical strain can be possible causes of back pain. However, in rare cases it may be a symptom of conditions such as disc or vertebral stenosis  

The sciatic nerve extends from the pelvis, through the buttocks, down the legs and it ends at the feet. When the sciatic nerve is pressed by inflated vertebral discs it can cause severe pain in the hip and all the way down the legs. Any sort of pain caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve can be called sciatica.

It has been proven that certain physical exercises can contribute in the treatment and reduction of sciatica. These exercises increase the flow of fluids and nutrients to the intervertebral discs.  The basic purpose of these exercises is to externally rotate and stretch the hip in order to decompress and provide relief to the sciatic nerve.

Knees to chest

1. Lay flat on your back with the soles of your feet touching the floor and keep your knees bent.
2. Slowly and steadily pull both your knees towards the chest.
3. Keep your knees as close to the chest as possible for 20-30 seconds and repeat the stretch 3 to 5 times.

Cobra push-ups

1. Lay flat on your stomach with your legs extended and your arms in the initial push-up position (palms at the height of chest).
2. Taking a full breath in, straighten your arms while lifting the chest. Make sure that the pelvis is always touching the flour.
3. Hold the stretch upwards for a time period of at least 30 second and up to 2 minutes.
4. Relax in the initial push-up position for an equal amount of time.

If the exercise is too painful or you don’t have enough strength to perform it you can keep your body stretched while resting on your arms and elbows.

Reclining pigeon pose

1. Lay on your back and bring one leg up with the knee facing upwards.
2. Clasp both hand behind the knee and grab your thigh firmly.
3. Lift your other leg and place the ankle on top of the other knee gently pushing towards your chest. Hold this position for a few seconds.
4. Repeat with the opposite leg and knee.

Knee to opposite shoulder

1. Lay on your back with your legs extended, feet facing upwards.
2. Bring your right leg up and clasp your hands behind the knee.
3. Pull your leg carefully across your body towards the left shoulder. Go as far as it feels comfortable, don’t force yourself.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
5. Repeat with left leg and right shoulder.

Warning: always start with right leg and then switch to left leg, in all exercises in which you apply pressure to your gut.

This is because your stomach is on the left side, and esophagus (which is like a “tunnel” for the food you have eaten) enters the stomach on the right. When you apply pressure first on the right, and then on the left, you are respecting the harmony of your digestion – if you do the opposite, you risk pressing the acid from the stomach back into the esophagus.

We talked about the way this influences your digestion in this article.

Sitting spinal stretch

1. Sit on your buttocks on a flat surface with your legs extended and facing upwards.
2. Bend one knee and place your foot flat on the floor.
3. Place your opposite elbow outside of the lifted knee and carefully turn your to side facing outward the lifted knee.
4. Repeat with the opposite side.

Remember that before attempting any of these exercises you should see a professional physician in order to get a correct diagnosis. In addition to these exercises there are a wide variety of additional treatment options, including hot water bottles, injections or even surgery.