Sciatica Stretching Exercises

Sciatica, also well-known as sciatic nerve pain, can be a terrible illness that can really degrade your quality of life if remained untreated.Sciatica stretching exercises can offer relief to your pain, but it is important to first understand what causes sciatica.

Sciatica is basically damage to the sciatic nerve that is triggered by pinching of
the nerve from tight muscles, or stress being placed on the nerve. Because the sciatic nerve starts in your lower back, and moves down, all the way through the back of your leg and hamstrings, overly tight muscles can create a pinch, which can cause pain.

Generally tight muscles suggest a weakness in other muscles in the
surrounding area, and that is the most common cause of sciatica.Sciatica stretches and regular sciatica exercises can really assist to combat this, and relieve your numbing nerve pain.

Another thing that can cause sciatic nerve damage is occupations such as truck driving, where you  are sitting for a prolonged period, and being bounced around at the same time, which applies pressure  and stress on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica can also be caused by a herniated lumbar disc, in which case, only performing sciatica  stretches won't help too much, and can in fact in up harming your sciatic nerve further.

In order to decide which type of sciatica you may be suffering from, try this simple exercise. Sitting up straight in a chair, stretch your leg that you are having pain in, straight out.If your pain increases, most likely true sciatica is to blame, and you have a  herniated disk.The 2nd test you can perform is pulling your knee on your painful side slowly, up to the shoulder on  the same side. Then gently  pull the same knee to the opposite shoulder, and gauge the pain. If  it is significantly more painful pulling to the opposite shoulder, tight muscles are the most likely  culprit for your sciatica.

Here are 2 simple Sciatica nerve stretchesyou can perform for sciatic pain relief: Lying flat on your back, pull your knee up to each shoulder.This can help to stretch out overly tight hamstring muscle. Be careful though as this can exacerbate a herniated disc problem.

The second sciatica stretchesyou can perform is a yoga move, where you lie flat on your stomach, and proper yourself up on your elbows while looking up slightly. This creates a slight curve in your lower spine and helps to relieve pressure and pain. But again, be careful, because if your sciatica is caused by a facet syndrome, this can aggravate it.

Also it is good to note that pain may increase for a bit when doing this sciatica stretch, but usually with practice it improves.  Get up and take a break between reps, walk it off. These sciatica exercises are meant to help you, but always use good judgment and caution when performing them.

One thing to keep in mind is that sciatica is seldom caused by just one factor. Sometimes, it may be due to facet syndrome, which I briefly mentioned above. That involves rear joints at the base of your spine. In that case, extending your back like mentioned above can actually aggravate your symptoms, and it is suggested to lie flat on your back and hug your knees. However, again this can put pressure on any herniated disc problems. Truthfully, to see your doctor before commencing any Sciatic nerve stretching exercises, and find out exactly where the cause of the pain is originating from, is the safest and wisest path to take.They can then refer you to a medical specialist that will help you perform the right exercises relevant to your particular case.