My mom

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mrsperry1015
mrsperry1015 Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Good morning everyone! My mom wanted me to ask on here she has siatica or however you spell it in her back and hips and she was wondering aside from walking what's some other excerises she could do at home? We both bought workout trampolines but she can't use hers :(

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  • kaizaku
    kaizaku Posts: 1,039 Member
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    I suffered from sciatica, well still am not fully recovered. It started 2014. Lower back, left leg from the bum straight down my leg to my toes going numb. Could not sleep, had few hours of broken sleep. I know how hard it must be.

    Take meds, so many stretches can be done. Going to the gym is what made be moble again. Lay on your front, and do half push up. Deadline, but without weights. Just go through the motion. 10 repetitive movements.
  • christys03
    christys03 Posts: 22,785 Member
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    kaizaku wrote: »
    I suffered from sciatica, well still am not fully recovered. It started 2014. Lower back, left leg from the bum straight down my leg to my toes going numb. Could not sleep, had few hours of broken sleep. I know how hard it must be.

    Take meds, so many stretches can be done. Going to the gym is what made be moble again. Lay on your front, and do half push up. Deadline, but without weights. Just go through the motion. 10 repetitive movements.

    I was going 2 say the same.....
    On hands & knees.......pushing the effected leg out behind you.
    Hope she feels better!
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I have had it. You do really need to encourage her first to talk to a doctor, possibly an orthopedist, to make sure that anything she does is not likely to make it worse. Seriously, first step: don't make it worse. I don't think the person above meant at heart to be rude, but just cautious.

    What I *suspect they will tell her is to start with stretching exercises and things to strengthen her core, i.e., stomach and lower back muscles. What that means depends alot on her current physical condition, and I can't emphasize that enough. For one person it could mean weight training and for another it could mean 10 crunches and 1 20-second plank. If she can afford it and if its medically recommended, physical therapy could be the way to go for learning the right exercises. However, they may also tell her to do NOTHING strenuous AT ALL until the pain passes, because it could well be that anything could make it worse. This is why I don't think its rude to emphasize getting that expert advice in this case. An X-ray or MRI really should be done before any informed decisions can be made about this.

    If she's on pain meds and/or muscle relaxants for this, then it might be particularly important to avoid exercise so that further injuries aren't masked by the meds. So really, there's no good advice any of us can give that you should actually take at this point.
  • ABabilonia
    ABabilonia Posts: 622 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I greatly reduced my sciatica pain with a foam roller. She can find some videos on YouTube and buy a foam roller in Amazon. I went from not being able to run five minutes to running twenty minutes comfortably. I also put ice to the area. The pain is almost gone. I still think, though, that your mom needs to go to the Doctor because her condition could be different, and may require a special treatment.
  • ElizabethBorden
    ElizabethBorden Posts: 15 Member
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    Chiropractic Adjustments
  • zigzag423
    zigzag423 Posts: 18 Member
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    A doctor is not the answer to everything! Learning from other people and there experiences is a very valuable thing. These days people wanna run to doctors and pop pills. They think that's always the cure.Sometimes a doctor is a lifesaver and sometimes they don't help at all.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited April 2017
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    zigzag423 wrote: »
    That's rude. Nothing wrong with asking. Some of us have experience with this problem. Go on Pinterest and look for stretches for sciatica. Yoga has changed my life helping with it. Plus walking and losing weight all help. As for meds I take ibuprofen. That's what helps me. Don't underestimate the help yoga can do. It is amazing in helping your body. Good luck

    Telling someone to check with at doctor or physical therapist is not rude at all, it is the correct advice. Sciatica is not an injury or disease, it is a symptom of many possible issues. The incorrect treatment/stretches for the root cause of the OP's mom, may cause the problem to get worse.

    P.S. I've had several bouts of sciatic pain from 2-3 different root causes, each required a different type of treatment.
  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
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    I have sciatica now and again. It is very painful and walking actually can be hard too. Talking to a Dr is best, I always suggest that. However, if she has access to a recumbant bike that should work.

    Here are some tips to alleviate it:

    1- Lay down and put your legs up so they are on something at a 90% angle. I would lay on floor with butt by couch, legs up, calves and feet on couch. Do do on floor though unless you are sure you can get up.
    2- if you sleep on your back, put a pillow under your knees, this takes pressure off.
    3- Standing, if you are doing anything while standing (dishes?) put small step there and put foot on it, the side that hurts, takes pressure off. Anywhere you must stand do this.

    Other thing that I found helped a lot, building your core, stomach, obliques and back. Pilates classes or videos really are great for back. they tell you what to do as well if you have lower back pain (Put your hands under your butt to help prevent additional strain, also important when stretching forward, try to keep your back straight instead of bending, its harder, but keeps you from overstretching the tendons). The stronger the muscles around the area, the less it will hurt.

    FYI, pregnancy is what gave me sciatica and many of the tips are from the Dr. My mom had trouble and did the pillow under her legs and it really helped.
  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
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    mrsperry1015 wrote: »
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    Ask her doctor or her physical therapist instead of asking strangers in the internet.
    No need to come off rude and ignorant I just thought I'd come on here and ask and by the comment on your second post no she isn't an elderly person she's only 56, and yes she is on mfp she just doesnt get on the chat board, for some reason i thought people would have good ideas instead of being ignorant

    See my answer just above. Doctor is good thing, but I offered you some suggestions. It is actually OK to ask, but important to be careful.

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