Sciatic Exercise doesn’t really sound like something you want to know about. You are in pain. How are you supposed to exercise? But really, though bed rest may be a very good idea when you are experiencing an acute sciatica flare up, when going on too long it’ll do you more harm than good (too long is more than a couple of days). It is best to get back to your regular routine as soon as you can (of course avoiding what got you here in the first place). When your pain lessens, start looking into the different possibilities for sciatica exercises, according to the cause of your sciatica pain. What may do one condition a world of good may seriously aggravate a different condition. For that very reason you should always consult a physician before getting started with your sciatica exercises, since you need to know when you can start exercising, with what frequency and what types of exercises would do you good.
Now that I’ve said that, I’d like to take a closer look at a certain kind of sciatic exercise that will most likely be one of the most beneficial treatments for your sciatica: warm water exercises. Though it is true that during an acute flare up of your sciatica cold should rather be applied instead of warmth, once the first pain has simmered down and the healing process has started warm water therapy is very beneficial in several ways.
Soaking in warm water will help relax you, it also increases blood flow and will help to soften up tightened muscles. Warm water will help to speed up your healing process. It’ll augment your range of movement, since warm water makes tight muscles more pliable. You might want to take a warm bath before doing your exercises (don’t overdo it, since at some point your body temperature will rise too high).
Now, being nicely relaxed and all, you could try some water exercises. They are much easier to do than regular exercises, since being in the water will take most of the weight and pressure off your back, joints, ligaments, disks and muscles; it also lowers the pain associated with some of the exercises, especially in the beginning, when there is still some stiffness, and the fear of possible pain, which in itself can make you tense up.
The water’s density will make your muscles work harder while simultaneously it’ll reduce the stress for your entire body. Just marching or walking in the water can be a good start to reduce muscle spasms and pain.
Exercises in warm water and water in general are a great point to start out on exercises altogether, be it after a sciatica flare up or for some other cause of back pain. Exercises in warm water are some of the most beneficial exercises. You get the reduction of inflammation due to increased circulation on one hand and the strengthening of the muscles on the other hand that you will need to keep your spine and sciatic nerve in good shape.
After water exercises you will find a wide array of exercises available to you, that you can work towards bit by bit, but before you start to exercise altogether (now that you have talked to your back specialist and learned which exercises you can do), always start up with warming up for at least 5 minutes. That could be a short walk, or even walking in place. Even using an exercise bike will do the job.
In the beginning you should probably only do gentle stretching exercises for your back and then bit by bit grow into back and abdominal exercises to build strength. It would probably also be a good idea to add in some low impact aerobic exercises, like swimming. When finding a good balance with all these exercises you use a wide selection of muscle groups and that in turn will help you to prevent future flare ups.
To sum it up: Sciatica and exercises can’t be kept apart if your goal is pain relief and strengthening in the long run. Make sure to speak to a back specialist prior to starting your exercise routine or self-treating your causes and symptoms, just so you can be sure what you are able to and should and shouldn’t do.
Learn more about sciatic exercise. Stop by Christina Meier’s site where you can find out all about sciatic exercises and what they can do for you.
