Sciatica Center

Here is a selection of articles on exercises that can help you with back pain relief and home treatment of sciatica. Our view is that getting enough of the right type of exercise is one of the key things you can do to stop your sciatica and back pain.

If you want more detailed information on exercises for relieving siatica and back pain relief, register for the course and newsletter or buy the Better Back Book.

It's also important for you to understand that everybody has a different physical condition and makeup, so not all exercises have the same effect for all people.

If you think a particular exercise isn't helping you, or it hurts, then stop doing it and try a different one.

You Probably Don't Exercise Enough

You probably didn't want to hear that!

However, as a general rule, most people don't exercise enough nowadays. This means that many people will experience some discomfort when they attempt new stretches and exercises. This is normal.

The key thing is to be sensible and consistent. Keep on exercising regularly, ideally varying your routine so your body doesn't get in a comfortable rut and you'll find you steadily extend your capabilities.

When I first started doing yoga I was stiff as a board and couldn't even get close to touching my toes in the hamstring stretch (and I was already physically fit from playing competitive soccer). It took me well over a year to get to the point where I could consistently touch and hold my toes.

It's likely you'll go through a similar process. Just keep plugging away.

Take Action

Find the right exercises for yourself and make them a part of your daily routine.

• Yoga Salute To The Sun Back Exercise

The Yoga Salute to the Sun is a simple yet powerful exercise that you can do virtually anywhere - your home, at the gym, in a hotel, at the beach etc.  It is just a great all round stretching, strengthening and warm up exercise …

• How Does Yoga Help Your Sciatica, Health and Wellbeing?

The benefits of yoga are that you can expect your back and body to become stronger and much more flexible, and your mind to become more settled and clear.

• Back Exercise Made Simple - How You Can Build A Strong Healthy Back

The good news is that by doing back exercise in the right way, sufficiently often you can keep your back healthy and strong.

• Exercises For Sciatica

If you don't exert yourself reasonably regularly, especially as you age, the muscles supporting and surrounding your back will eventually get weak and stiff. Then these muscles won't be able to work well enough when you most need them to - when you put a strain on your back.

• Exercises For Lower Back Pain - The Hamstring Stretch

This is a demanding stretch, so if you are in doubt, or too stiff, or your back already hurts, start with one leg at a time or wait until your pain has reduced and/or you feel stronger. Sit on the floor (use a padded mat or a rug, don't do this on a hard surface) with one leg out in front of you. Tuck the other leg in so that …

Note: This course has been significantly updated. To get access to the latest version sign up for the course using the registration form.

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Hello and welcome to Lesson 6 of your Back Health and Exercise Course.

In this lesson we'll talk about the different types of back specialists and how they can help you. As always, please read the disclaimer before you consider any treatment or exercise.

If you are, or have been, dealing with sciatica and back pain you may have come in contact with a range of medical practitioners. For example: - Your Family Doctor - Orthopaedic Surgeon - Naturopathic Specialist - Rheumatologist - Occupational Therapist - Physiotherapist - Acupuncturist - Massage Therapist - Osteopath - Chronic Pain Specialist - Chiropractor

Let's talk more about Chiropractors - why chiropractors you might ask?

The answer is just personal experience. I have used a chiropractor for many years and the treatment works for me. If you have a favourite type of specialist that helps you look after your back and they work for you - that's great too. Keep using them! Remember we're looking for anything that works to stop back pain.

It doesn't matter what it is as long as it works for you. A key point though is that since I learnt how to look after my back and started exercises to strengthen it, the sciatica and lower back pain have just about gone. Now I need to visit the chiropractor much less often - on a monthly schedule, whereas sometimes it was only a few days between treatments. What's more important to me is that my back feels good most of the time.

Background to Chiropractors

Chiropractors regard your spine as the major influence on your overall health, because all the organs in your body depend upon the spinal cord (nerve) for the transmission of vital messages that are relayed backwards and forwards between your organs and your brain. If your spine is injured or misaligned, this interferes with the transmission of these messages.

Chiropractors diagnose spine and joint problems with the help of X-rays. They are also able to detect various conditions of your spine, including the surrounding muscles with their hands. The most common therapeutic procedure performed by chiropractors is known as spinal manipulation, also called chiropractic adjustment.

The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile or restricted in their movement  as a result of a tissue injury.

Note: There are also people who say that chiropractors are basically charlatans and the treatment is a hoax, for more information refer: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chiro.html.

I'll leave it up to you to decide. As mentioned above, its what works for you that counts In the next lesson we'll look at other forms of exercise.

Stop low back pain at www.sciaticacenter.com/

Note: This course has been significantly updated. To get access to the latest version sign up for the course using the registration form.

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Hello and welcome to Lesson 5 of your Back Health & Exercise Course.

After the previous lessons I hope you have started exercising your back regularly. You don't have to do a whole lot, just a bit every day helps.

REMEMBER: In modern life, most back problems arise from too little movement of the right type. So when a strain is placed upon your back, it's unable to respond properly. The result is the muscles supporting your spine "freeze" as a protective measure. This freezing is the usual source of pain and stiffness. The problems can then start to compound because pain and stiffness often mean you move less. If you're not moving much, this means your back becomes weaker and a vicious cycle of pain, stiffness and weakness starts.

So the way to break this cycle is:

Number 1.

Just be aware of what your back is doing. The phrase "learn to listen to your body" is often used in health and fitness programs. The same goes for your back

- learn to listen to it. If it feels stiff, get up and/or have a stretch and change position.

- Get up and walk around briefly every 20-30 minutes if you're a desk worker (PCs are notoriously bad for necks and shoulders).

- If you drive long distances stop and walk around your vehicle every hour or so.

- Lift things correctly - legs bent, arms & load close to your body, stomach muscles clenched, don't twist until you have stopped lifting.

Number 2.

Regularly exercise your whole body because your back is intimately connected with the rest of your body.

For example if you have tight hamstrings you will probably get back problems.

Why? Because your hamstrings are very strong muscles and if they're stiff and pulling on your back, they're easily strong enough to pull it out of alignment.

We mentioned the simplest whole-of-body exercise is walking. Swimming is even better. Commit yourself to walking a bit more every day and have an occasional swim if you don't already.

TIP: I recently read a study which claimed a walk before breakfast will increase your weight loss. Apparently your body burns more fat when you exercise on an empty stomach.

Number 3.

Specific exercises to loosen and strengthen the supporting "core stability" muscles and ligaments in your back and surrounding areas. The specialised exercises for your back in the Better Back System really help you 'wake up' and strengthen your core stability muscles.

I recently came across another exercise for sciatica and back pain that is described in our sciatica blog - keep an eye on it for news and updates. It uses the same basic ideas as the Better Back System in that it aims to condition and re-educate the muscles that support your back.

REMEMBER: Always read our disclaimer before you attempt any exercise.

SCIATICA & BACK PAIN RELIEF EXERCISE

1. Stand with your feet about 45cm (18 inches) apart.

2. Slowly rotate your head and shoulders as far as you can to the left. DO NOT TWIST OR TURN RAPIDLY. Stop when you feel tension or pain in the muscles of your neck and/or back.

3. At this point you will have turned somewhere between 90 and 180 degrees and be looking somewhere between to your left and to your rear depending on how supple you are.

4. Hold the position for a few seconds, count slowly 1-2-3-4-5. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

The hold time gives your brain a clear signal so it can differentiate between your normal muscle tension and maximum achievable muscle tension.

5. Next slowly return to the straight ahead position and then twist to the right hand side (i.e. in the opposite direction) and hold the position again for a few seconds count slowly 1-2-3-4-5. AND REPEAT

6. Do the exercise for a minute or two, 4 to 5 times a day and you can expect to see relief from most lower and upper back pain.

EXERCISE STANDING OR SITTING

When you do the exercise standing, twist your whole body. This involves the muscles in your hips and legs also. You can also do the exercise sitting in which case it works best if you clasp your hands together on top of your head. Measure your progress by monitoring how far around you can get your elbow. This version focuses on the neck and shoulder areas. The aim here is to see as far behind your back as you can.

This way you get maximum rotation of both the neckbone and backbone. Repeat this for 5 minutes, but start out doing less if it makes your back pain worse. Good luck and we look forward to sharing more with you in the next lesson.

Go to www.sciaticacenter.com to learn exercises to stop sciatica