Sciatica and fitness- doubts

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thistimeforsure2016
thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,
I suffer from sciatic nerve pain and I keep reading success stories about people who got fit doing strength training not only cardio. I have started to walk for 30 minutes a day At 3.0 to 3.7 intensity and 1-3 incline on the treadmill. I'm new to mfp and I'm desperate to lose weight and start feeling better. I lost weight before about 65 pounds In total including pregnancy weight but after my second baby I gained a lot of weight and let myself go. I'm f and 5'6 and 211 pounds. I would like to be around 160. My question is what could I do in addition to walking that will not trigger my sciatic pain. Please give me advice.

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  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Swimming or water workouts. I've taken prenatal swim classes with both of my pregnancies and omg the water helps so much to relieve that pain. Some of thsoe stuff they do in the prenatal classes are the same as the other water workout classes. But regardless, being in the water really helps relieve that stress on the back.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    Use a food scale. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, there are a lot of people on mfp who have lost weight without strength training only. If you would like to exercise and incorporate some type of strength training you could always do body weight exercises. There are programs like you are your own gym and convict conditioning that are body weight programs. There is also tons of body weight only workouts on youtube like blogilates, fitness blender, etc.
  • maroonmango211
    maroonmango211 Posts: 908 Member
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    I have sciatic pain as well, due to SI dysfunction (and now possibly arthritis in the SI joints and my lower spine). I strength train more than I do cardio. My biggest advice would be to take it SLOW, concentrate on form and do not do any exercises that seem to make it worse (you can always try and go back to them in a few months when you are stronger). You may never be able to lift 'heavy' but you definitely can strength train and most likely you can even see a decrease in pain as the supporting muscles get stronger. Another thing I would suggest is to see a physiotherapist that has experience with sciatic pain clients. I know seeing mine totally changed how I viewed my own personal fitness, and really helped me narrow down what I should be working on and how my form should be modified.
  • thistimeforsure2016
    thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
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    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Swimming or water workouts. I've taken prenatal swim classes with both of my pregnancies and omg the water helps so much to relieve that pain. Some of thsoe stuff they do in the prenatal classes are the same as the other water workout classes. But regardless, being in the water really helps relieve that stress on the back.

  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    I am also dealing with sciatic pain and I think you need to address why you have this pain. With me, I get it because I periodically get piriformis syndrome, which I get when I sit around too much. But some people have sciatic pain because they have a lower back disc issue. So one is a relatively short term issue, the other is longer term and may need surgical intervention to resolve.

    Either way, you can treat this pain by taking some anti-inflammatories (like Advil) and try not to put too much strain on the low back, which could potentially cause more stress on the sciatic nerve.

    You can still lose some pounds by just watching your diet. Weigh and measure everything you eat and stay within your calorie goals. You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight, even though it does add to your calorie deficit and overall fitness. In your case, I would say you could do some upper body weight training, which is what I did while I was dealing with this condition.
  • thistimeforsure2016
    thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
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    Hi,
    I'm not currently pregnant. And swimming is kind of out of the question for me for personal reasons. I used to swim a long time ago and I know what you mean about how it relieves pressure. Thanks for the suggestion would love to swim but can't
  • thistimeforsure2016
    thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
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    strong_curves wrote: »
    Use a food scale. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, there are a lot of people on mfp who have lost weight without strength training only. If you would like to exercise and incorporate some type of strength training you could always do body weight exercises. There are programs like you are your own gym and convict conditioning that are body weight programs. There is also tons of body weight only workouts on youtube like blogilates, fitness blender, etc.

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    thistimeforsure2016 wrote: »
    Hi,
    I'm not currently pregnant. And swimming is kind of out of the question for me for personal reasons. I used to swim a long time ago and I know what you mean about how it relieves pressure. Thanks for the suggestion would love to swim but can't

    Yes I understand that. I was just saying the moves used for sciatic pain in prenatal swim are frequently used in regular swim classes.
  • thistimeforsure2016
    thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
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    Thank you, this was very helpful and reassuring. What about just doing squats without weight and doing upper body low weight workouts? Like I don't have to do hardcore strength training excercises to keep the weight off right? I got discouraged when i read that somebody said they gained all the weight back that they lost because they lost it with cardio and not strength training
  • thistimeforsure2016
    thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
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    maroonmango211 wrote: »
    I have sciatic pain as well, due to SI dysfunction (and now possibly arthritis in the SI joints and my lower spine). I strength train more than I do cardio. My biggest advice would be to take it SLOW, concentrate on form and do not do any exercises that seem to make it worse (you can always try and go back to them in a few months when you are stronger). You may never be able to lift 'heavy' but you definitely can strength train and most likely you can even see a decrease in pain as the supporting muscles get stronger. Another thing I would suggest is to see a physiotherapist that has experience with sciatic pain clients. I know seeing mine totally changed how I viewed my own personal fitness, and really helped me narrow down what I should be working on and how my form should be modified.

  • LPirrone
    LPirrone Posts: 3 Member
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    I have sciatic pain myself, but it's not constant. I find that stretching helps alleviate the pain a lot and I also have an inversion table, which is literally the best gift I ever got, especially for my back pain. Core strength will undoubtably help with lower back pain. Any core exercises you do will help! You have to strengthen your core to alleviate any back pain. And of course your diet is super important when trying to lose weight. Slow and steady changes to improving your diet. And my best advise is slow and steady (have patience-nothing happens overnight) and you ave to WANT to make a change in order for it to work. Good Luck!
  • thistimeforsure2016
    thistimeforsure2016 Posts: 36 Member
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    Hi, I don't know what the cause is for my sciatic pain but the doctor told me I have sciatica based on my symptoms. I think the reason is my weight gain and the pressure it puts on my back. I saw a physiotherapist and they weren't very helpful they just gave me a few exercises to do but they didn't tell me the cause or anything.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    Sciatic pain is a symptom, not an illness/injury. Do you know the root cause of the pain? If not work with a heath care provider to find it.

    Nobody can say what will help, won't help/hurt without knowing the root cause.

    Best of luck.
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
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    I had a problem with my SI joint about a year and a half ago that laid me up for a couple months. Physical therapy should be able to help you with exercises. My PT team knew I was previously athletic and wanted to get back to that, so they gave me strength training exercises to do. It started with just stretching and wasn't until the worst of the pain was resolved that I went on to actual exercises.

    I had to go through several weeks of PT before my insurance would cover me to a specialist to get xrays and a complete diagnosis.

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