Exercises for Sciatica

What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a pain that is incurred on a human body due to compression of the sciatic nerves. This does not persist permanently but predominantly stays for a period of time and causes severe pain during its existence. The symptoms are generally felt on one particular side of the body alone.

Effects
Sciatica results in causing severe pain in the lower part of the buttock and parts of the leg and foot. The pain may seldom be accompanied by muscular weakness and immobility of the limbs.

Causes
The main reason for the occurrence of sciatica is due to the irritation of the nerve roots and nerve ending attributed by a number of factors. Lack of physical exercises and sedentary lifestyles, occurrence of trigger points in the lower back and pregnancy in women attribute to sciatica.

How to overcome sciatica?
Sciatica is a temporary prolongation of pain in a particular part of the body, which can be prevented, rather than a disease to be cured. The main way to prevent sciatica is to adopt a set of exercises in your day today life or to adapt a physical therapy for a period of time. Yoga offers a lot of exercises to prevent sciatica. Other than that, there are certain other simple exercises to be performed daily.

Exercise for a herniated disc:

• Lie on your stomach with the face facing the floor.
• Place your palms parallel to your face and slowly start raising your head.
• With your lower part of the body from the hip lying on the floor, continue raising your upper part of the body upwards.
• Hold this for about 5 seconds
• Perform this routine for 10 repetitions.

Exercise for spinal stenosis:

• Lie upright on a flat surface with the face facing the roof and relax yourself.
• Place your foot flat on the floor with the knee upwards.
• Now, slowly and gently pull up your knees upwards towards the chest.
• Make sure that your lower halves of the legs stay in contact with your thighs.
• Stay in this position for about half a minute and slowly restore to the original position.
• Perform this routine for 10 repetitions.

Exercise for degenerative disk disease

• Lie upright on the floor with the legs bent, so that they form a triangular position with the floor.
• Place your arms beside the body.
• Now, gently raise the legs alternatively, for about 5 inches from the floor.
• Continue this for 25 times.
• Take a break for a minute and repeat the procedure again for 3 times.

Exercise for L5 nerve root affection

• Lie upright on the floor with the legs bent, so that they form a triangular position with the floor.
• Fold your arms so that they touch their opposite shoulders.
• Now, gently raise your upper part of the body to sit up.
• Slowly restore back to your original position.
• Repeat the procedure 30 times.

Exercise for piriformis syndrome

• Lie upright on the floor with relaxed legs and arms.
• Now, raise one of the legs towards the chest with the respective hand assisting it and slowly restore back to its original position.
• Repeat the same with the other leg.
• Repeat the exercise until you feel a stretch on the legs.

Exercise for sacroiliac joint dysfunction

• Lie flat on the floor with the legs bent to make a triangular position with the floor.
• Place the arms beside the body.
• Now, rotate the knees from side to side and end to end.
• Remember, not to move the spine during the progress of the exercise.
• Do this for 25 repetitions.

General stretching exercises

• Lie upright on the floor and free the arms and legs.
• Now, gently start lifting the legs upwards alternatively.
• Remember to keep the legs in a thoroughly upward position.
• Repeat this exercise 25 times.