Yoga and Sciatic Pain

alamarana2885

Ok, I started going to college part time and my new school (transferred) had a PE requirement. I decided to do yoga because I enjoyed the yoga disc in the P90X Lean routine that I did about 2 years ago. When I first started my yoga class, everything was fine, but after a couple weeks or so I started getting sciatic pain on the left side during the transition from Plank to Downward Dog. It would be a sharp pinch that made my knees give out, but I would be able to recover quickly and move on to the other poses. I put up with this twice a week for about a month before I dropped the class. The real reason I dropped the yoga class is that after my day was done and I got home, my sciatic pain would flare up and would cause EXTREAME uterine cramping (which I believe was made worse by my IUD, because I never had this issue before I got it). Like, narcotics and ibuprofen combined didn't touch the pain and all I could do was roll around on the bed between cramps and huff and puff like I was in labor (this has seriously made me reconsider my child birthing plans, lol).

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has had an experience like this with yoga or an IUD making things too painful to be worth it. Did you give up and do something else, or did you suffer through it and it eventually go better? So far, I've decided to go for a walk on Yoga days instead.

kkcmama

Wow~ hope the walking fills the slot ok!

Evachiquita

I have been doing yoga for several years but I have never heard of anything like this. Yoga should not hurt, ever! Did you ask the teacher? Also maybe it's something in your back and not the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve runs the length of the leg, in the back of it. Sciatic pain is usually experienced in the leg, radiating down from the hip/lower back. I don't know that it is responsible for pain or nerve impulses in the uterine region. BTW, I'm not a doctor or anything like that; studied anatomy/pre-med in school and am very interested in anatomy and yoga and have known people with sciatic nerve pain.

alamarana2885

The pain starts in my hip/butt region semi-laterally (like right about where you get a shot in your butt) and it shoots down my leg to my knees which is what causes them to buckle. I told the teacher and she suggested some stretches that target the hip muscles and poses that open the hips more, but they weren't a regular part of the class (we did them once and it was great, but didn't do them again and I had difficulty trying it without guidance). The only reason I thought that the IUD may be causing a problem is because I was able to do the P90X yoga without any issues prior to insertion. I think I'll try yoga again after I've lost a bit more weight, maybe it's a weight bearing issue.... :ohwell:

hbm616

I have personally found that yoga helps prevent sciatica flare ups for me. I'm sorry you are suffering, nerve pain is so terrible because most pain meds can't even help.

From my numerous rounds of PT for my back/sciatica all I can suggest is that you keep moving. Walking is a great, low impact exercise that shouldn't aggravate your nerve. If this continues I would suggest seeing a doctor.

Good luck!

orkilatrish

I went to a yoga flow class the other day and the pyramid pose felt awesome at the time, but the next day my sciatica was so bad I couldn't walk. I went to see my physio and she said the best remedy was to go easy on the affected area and avoid the motions that caused the inflamation. (for me this was forward bending). She suggested some poses and stretches that helped a lot. I loved my yoga class in college, so I would encourage you not to give up on the yoga, but you also have to listen to your body. When it tells you "I am sooo not doing THAT," listen and wait for the next set of poses or find a modified version. You might also get the IUD checked out... maybe these things aren't causal just correlated?