Exercising with Sciatica...

sarahsummers12 · February 2014

Hi everyone,
I suffer with bad sciatica (have done since my teens) and I find it extremely hard to get motivated to exercise, because it only takes one small turn, bend,or lift to upset my sciatica, and then I'm laid up on the lounge in agony for days. :-/. And then once it's been bad, I'm too scared to do anything physical much at all for a while as it stays 'on the verge' of going for weeks, sometimes months. Has anyone else with sciatica found any exercises to be beneficial, or at least not as likely to cause issues? Mine gets angry doing the most basic things.. I only have to vacuum and it goes :-/. Any ideas/experiences/advice would be welcomed. :-D

mom2sons02 · February 2014

This is me also. All I have heard that is good is swimming. Since I do not have a pool, and live in an area where there are not many public pools, this is difficult. Looking forward to hearing responses.

sarahsummers12 · February 2014

Yeah I live in a rural area, and have two small children and a husband that works away - so swimming isn't really an option for me either :-/. I also have bursitis in my hips, and swimming is meant to be good for that too, but ah well.. :-/

BrienJD · February 2014

Same here. Mine is not totally debilitating but it does hurt quite a bit after exercise. I swam, but it was never enough for me to keep the weight off. Probably not doing enough or doing it properly though. I too would be interested to hear from other folks how they deal with this.

jamesalytle · February 2014

I thought I had it bad when I get my dagger in the thigh pains but that's nothing compared to what you got going on, so sorry! Don't know if it helps much, but I found that eating a banana helps with the pain. Tried potassium pills and that didn't do anything.

I will say just got to go for a swim for the first time tonight, traveling on business, and my legs feel great. Swam for 30min non-stop.

jamesalytle · February 2014

quick edit, by helps with the pain I mean it minimizes the number of attacks and the degree of their severity.

SJ46 · February 2014

Chiropractic care helped me, now I don't have any problems and I workout intensely.

ninerbuff · February 2014

It's really going to depend on the severity of it. I have sciatica down my left leg and have had it since my 20's. I'm assuming it happened when I used to break dance and hit the floor hard a lot on my back and rear. Anyway, I've worked around it for years, but do notice that I can't flex some of my left leg muscles as hard as I can on my right leg.
What I do make sure I do is a lot of stretching and keeping my hamstrings flexible. This helps to alleviate some of the pain and I notice when I don't work out now, my sciatica seems to bother me more. So for me, the more I exercise, the better it feels.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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briniepoo · February 2014

Heya, I had bad sciatica since my knee operation. Running was all good, but normal walking was sooo painful. My sister then recommended I see a chiropractor, I did.

I never felt such relief! Apparently, for me, when I had my knee operation, I started favoring one side, that made my hips twist inorder to hold my body weight better on one side. When I sat, my hip was twisted, when I walked my hip twisted. This in turn causes my back to go funny. Well long story short, thoughs horrible shoots of pain were with me all day everyday, when I sat, walked and stood (never had the pain when running though).

Well I went to the chiro, he gave me 3 sessions, popped hips, back and neck back into place, and what a difference! I recommend you go see a chiro if you havent!

Jade0529 · February 2014

I have a whole host of joint issues as well as Sciatica and Bursitis in my knees. I find gentle stretching (the whole body but I do extra on my back and all my legs/hips) several times a day, Yoga and swimming as well I find are very helpful

Spacegirlley · February 2014

I have the same issue. I've had sciatica ever since my car accident 12 years ago. I also find that doing something as simple as housework can lay me up for a few days. I'm currently on day 2 of recovery from just such an incident now. I also tried chiro, but it only made things worse for me.

As for exercises swimming obviously, cross trainers and gentle yoga are good I find. When I'm feeling more adventurous and more physically able I also incorporate a stationary bike and walking. All other exercises tend to aggravate my sciatica to much so I steer clear of them.

sarahsummers12 · February 2014

Thanks for your input everyone.. I can't really afford to go see a chiro at the moment, but when I can I will. When my sciatica is playing up - I can't even stand up right - I have to walk like a spastic duck with my butt stuck out, and bent over from the waist up as the nerve pain when I try and stand is so agonising. That results in all the other muscles in my back going into spasms and cramps from trying to compensate for the silly position I'm in. It is certainly not fun!! I know I should be stretching more, and I'll try and get the motivation to start doing that regularly.

dumparump · February 2014

Heya, I can definitely empathize with what you're going through.

I've had hip displaysia since I was a kid, it has caused a lot of issues throughout my life, and have even been told by a doctor I wouldn't be able to carry a baby full term because of it. Not only did I carry my son full term, but I was able to deliver him naturally too. That aside, I had gone to a chiropractor for many years, as well as go through structural therapy with a massage therapist. Nothing however, was more affective than strength training, and postural training.

So long as your movements are slow, exact and in proper form it should in no way cause sciatica (pseudo, or otherwise) to flare up. Granted, it's painful in the beginning, but NOT doing anything only makes it worse. Stretching the glute and hips also helps with flexibility and pain management. The more you do of it, the easier it gets.

I've been a massage therapist going on five years, and paying close attention to how you are carrying yourself can be essential to how your body reacts. We work on tensegrity, which is a fancy word for balance. If our right side is off center, our left side suffers and so on. Pay attention to your posture and strive to keep yourself in alignment--seek advice from therapists and chiropractors on proper posture and you'll have a wealth of information to help you.

Whatever you do, DON'T STOP MOVING. Ice it when it hurts, and take motrin when you absolutely can't stand it. But don't stop moving.

dumparump · February 2014

As a side note, from what I've read you may also be suffering from slipping discs in your lower spine. Be careful with that, and don't neglect your back. The cost of a chiropractor may be one thing, but fixing a herniation of a disc is quite another.

Beckyann1971 · February 2014

I know there are different reasons for the pain so I don't know if this will help. Mine seems to be from my SI joints so my doctor showed me a stretch where I laid on my back and put my knees up. While she pushed my knees together I force them apart. Its been amazing for me. You should feel kinda like what you would if you laid with knees up and squeezed your glutes tight while trying to pull your butt bones apart.lol A bit hard to explain.

Another stretch I do, I found by accident doing the clam stretch to help my knees. You lift your knee repeatedly, like the stretch calls for at my last one I just hold, and I feel that in my SI joint. Its great for when my husband isn't available to help with the other.

I also use a foam roller, I use to think they are useless but now love them.

My pain is a lot better. It flares up but I haven't been so bad off I can't walk since doing these.

concordancia · February 2014

I always (try to) make sure to start slow and work my way up. Include plenty of stretching in each workout. You might even want to start with just stretching, then add cardio and finally weights.

I make sure I get a variety of activities (my main issue is a degenerative disk, so I have to be especially careful of repetitive motions)

I modify everything to make it low or no impact. If everyone else is doing jumping jacks, I do double knee raises, or something else that keeps me moving, but also keeps one foot on the ground. There is a stretching routine that I love on fitnessblender, except that instead of doing cobras, I just stretch my arms in front of my head, then bring them back to move into child's pose.

If I do over do things, I find alternative exercises: chair aerobics can be quite challenging, and Wii Resorts cycling works up a sweat just by moving your arms, even from a seated position, shadow boxing can also be done from a seated position.

sami_83 · February 2014

I am experiencing the tail end of a flare up at the moment so hopefully I can exercise again soon, but when I am pain-free I am going to try the stretches given by Tree of Life Yoga (I think?) on youtube. If you look for "Yoga for Sciatica Part 1" you'll find it. It's not 'hippie' yoga, nor does it seem too difficult. Most of the video is explaining physiology and how your muscles and nerves connect. It's really informative and I learned a lot just from the first one. Worth a try?

Do you know the cause of yours? If it started in your teens you may well have the same thing as me- spondylolysis. In which case there's no 'fix', but you can take preventative measures (like stretching, of course!) to prevent the sciatic pain occuring as often.

In the meantime please rest as much as possible. Easier said than done, I know. But being horizontal as much as possible will help you to recover quicker.

Hope you feel better soon! :flowerforyou:

heatherloveslifting · February 2014

I had it so bad I couldn't walk a couple of years ago and it was actually my primary motivation for getting fit. I started slowly, but since I have lost weight and gotten stronger and more flexible it almost never bothers me anymore, and when I do get it it's very mild. I've progressed relatively cautiously and I'm very extremely careful about form, but at this point there really isn't anything I can't do! Good luck!!!

Beckyann1971 · February 2014

Great resources! Thank you!

I am experiencing the tail end of a flare up at the moment so hopefully I can exercise again soon, but when I am pain-free I am going to try the stretches given by Tree of Life Yoga (I think?) on youtube. If you look for "Yoga for Sciatica Part 1" you'll find it. It's not 'hippie' yoga, nor does it seem too difficult. Most of the video is explaining physiology and how your muscles and nerves connect. It's really informative and I learned a lot just from the first one. Worth a try?

Do you know the cause of yours? If it started in your teens you may well have the same thing as me- spondylolysis. In which case there's no 'fix', but you can take preventative measures (like stretching, of course!) to prevent the sciatic pain occuring as often.

In the meantime please rest as much as possible. Easier said than done, I know. But being horizontal as much as possible will help you to recover quicker.

Hope you feel better soon! :flowerforyou:

LC458 · February 2014

Heya, I can definitely empathize with what you're going through.

I've had hip displaysia since I was a kid, it has caused a lot of issues throughout my life, and have even been told by a doctor I wouldn't be able to carry a baby full term because of it. Not only did I carry my son full term, but I was able to deliver him naturally too. That aside, I had gone to a chiropractor for many years, as well as go through structural therapy with a massage therapist. Nothing however, was more affective than strength training, and postural training.

So long as your movements are slow, exact and in proper form it should in no way cause sciatica (pseudo, or otherwise) to flare up. Granted, it's painful in the beginning, but NOT doing anything only makes it worse. Stretching the glute and hips also helps with flexibility and pain management. The more you do of it, the easier it gets.

I've been a massage therapist going on five years, and paying close attention to how you are carrying yourself can be essential to how your body reacts. We work on tensegrity, which is a fancy word for balance. If our right side is off center, our left side suffers and so on. Pay attention to your posture and strive to keep yourself in alignment--seek advice from therapists and chiropractors on proper posture and you'll have a wealth of information to help you.

Whatever you do, DON'T STOP MOVING. Ice it when it hurts, and take motrin when you absolutely can't stand it. But don't stop moving.

. M

I have been searching for relief for my mild sciatica and honestly your post makes the most sense. Even more reason to focus on my core. I really really appreciate you sharing this and your experience. I wonder how long though before I'll see results?? I'm sure time will tell as usual

sarahsummers12 · February 2014

I do have spondylolysis - a dr told me that off xrays I had years ago. I will look into some yoga moves for it as well. Thanks for all your helps guys - really appreciate it. :-)

Exercising with Sciatica...

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