Sciatica is a painful problem that involves the body’s largest nerve group – the sciatic nerve – to be compressed due to swelling in the area or a herniated disc. If you’ve been recently diagnosed with sciatica, don’t panic. There are plenty of ways to approach sciatica home treatment safely and effectively.
Stay Active
One way to treat sciatica and keep it from coming back is to stay active. When you’re experiencing intense back pain, and even tingling and numbness in your lower extremities it can be difficult to stay motivated when it comes to moving around. However, lying still for too long creates stiffness in your muscles and joints, which only adds to your pain.
So get moving. Walking, swimming and Yoga are just a few of the low impact exercises you can do to get your back in shape, and maintain a healthy outlook to prevent sciatica from returning. All of these techniques will help you build a stronger core so that you can better support your spinal column from within and prevent future episodes of sciatica.
You can also practice a few stretches to keep your back loose, and prevent tension and pressure from building in the area. Start by sitting in a chair, then just bend over reaching your arms out and try to touch the ground. It’s ok if you can’t reach. Just try to go far enough so that you can feel the stretch in your lower back. Never over extend when you’re doing stretches and exercises to help relieve your sciatica. The goal is to promote healing, not injure the area in new and painful ways.
Another stretch you can try is from that same sitting position place your left hand on your right knee. Turn your upper body to the right so your shoulders now point the same direction as your knees, or as close as you can get. Hold this position for a few seconds, and then repeat it on the other side. This will help engage all of your lower back muscles for more complete relief.
The Healthy Back Institute offers many valuable resources ranging from DVD series to ebooks to help you learn effective exercise techniques to help your sciatica heal, and then keep it away for good. Visit losethebackpain.com today to see their selection.
Get Straight
Another thing you can do to help relieve your sciatica pain is straighten up, your posture that is. Slouching creates pressure in areas that aren’t used to having to support that much weight. The spine is made to maintain a natural “S” curve, but when you slouch, it becomes more of a “C” throwing things off balance. This is especially true if you spend a lot of time sitting. It’s hard on your tail bone, and can easily cause sciatica, worsen it, or make it recur. So, sit up straight while you’re pounding away on your keyboard. If you need help with this, invest in a better chair, or a back support cushion. That way your back isn’t doing all the work, which will help tremendously when it comes to sciatica pain.
The Healthy Back Institute offers a wide range of back support cushions and chairs that can easily suit your needs. The Healthy Back Institute strives to eradicate back pain through their tips and tools. For more information on sciatica home treatment, visit losethebackpain.com today.
