Do you often feel a sharp pain in your lumbar region that can travel along your leg and into your foot? Do you sometimes feel a weakness or numbness in your leg?
If your answer to these questions is “yes”, then you could be suffering from sciatica.
(please see a medical professional for an official diagnosis)
Sciatica refers to the pain that travels along the path of the sciatic nerve. The pain can be very severe which can radiate into the hip and along the leg. Some symptoms can be numb pain in the hip or lower back, muscle spasms and nerve damage. Unfortunately this is a common sensation for people, and can be debilitating for their every day lives.
One of the major cause of sciatica is a compression of the spine, or around the deep hip/pelvis resulting in a pinching of your sciatic nerve. This is often due to sitting in bad postures for too long – like at a desk or in a car. When trying to combat sciatica it is important to look at the whole chain of muscles from the foot up to the pelvis and spine, and build better alignment and posture overall.
Here are our top 3 tips to combat the pain and discomfort associated with sciatica:
TIP 1: MYOFASCIAL RELEASES
Releasing tension in the muscle tissue of the body can help realign and rebalance your posture to reduce the symptoms of sciatica.
The first muscle to focus on is your TFL, (tensor Fascia Latae) which located to the side of the hip at the top of the IT Band. The TFL is a crucial in allowing your pelvis to move efficiently and supports the function of the gluteal muscles. If the TFL gets stuck, so does the pelvis and stops the glutes from working properly. This can be released with a tennis/ lacrosse ball lying on your side.
The second muscle to release is your rectus femoris (front part of the quadruceps/front of thigh). This muscle could be very tight due to prolonged periods of sitting or isolated fitness exercises like leg press, squats and lunges. The rectus femoris could then become dominant when standing or walking and prevent the muscles at the back of your thigh from working efficiently. Imbalances in the legs and hips can cause irregular tension in the low back tissue. This muscle can be released using a foam roller/medicine ball.
The third area to release is the gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus area. That upper part of your bottom /glute complex tends to become dysfunctional in relation to the tightness of your rectus femoris. Releasing tension here helps hydrate and give space for your sciatic nerve to cross through. This can be released using a medicine ball/foam roller or tennis/lacrosse ball.
Check out our youtube videos on myofascial release to get the right techniques. Here is one below.
TIP 2: DECOMPRESSION OF YOUR SPINE
Your spine is composed of three main elements:
- The bone structures called the vertebrae
- The intervertebral disks: the flat round cushions designed toabsorb shocks between each vertebra
- The spinal canal containing the spinal cord made of nervous tissues
Your spine is not a rigid structure, it should be able to flex and extend at certain levels, and also be able to rotate. Any imbalances in those different motions could cause compression and pain.
If you tend to be stuck in a bad posture, for instance a rounded upper back position, for example then your upper spine wont have the ability to straighten and elongate very well. The inability of this area to extend could cause some compensations in the lower back, neck and hips leading to the type of imbalances that can cause sciatica.
We’ve worked with many clients who suffer from spinal compression, resulting in an assortment of problems. Working on exercises that promote ‘extension’ and ‘elongation’ of the spine are a great place to start to promote decompression and the relieving of pain. These decompression exercises need thorough coaching to ensure they are executed properly. Our Full Body Mot sessions at Bodyfit Solutions are designed to assess the imbalances in your body and then work on the corrective exercises to move better and get out of pain.
TIP 3: IMPROVE YOUR GAIT CYCLE
Standing, walking, running and throwing – the better you can execute these functions, the closer you can get to a pain-free life. The body should be trained in the way it was designed to move; on two feet walking, running, throwing, bending, squatting, rotating and lunging. In multi-directions and integrated rather than training individual muscles in isolation. Improving your gait cycle will be crucial to permanently getting rid of your sciatica, compression and the imbalances in your body.
Improving the coordination of all the muscles of your body for walking patterns will be more helpful and holistic than solely focusing on sciatica stretches. Static stretching might give temporary relief from sciatica but will not stop the pain from recurring. When you stretch, you also stretch around the adhesion, which could make the knot tighter and can the pain worse in the long run.
So in order to relieve the pain from sciatica, while improving your movement long term: myofascially release key areas around your hips, decompress your spine and improve your functional movements.
If you are suffering with Sciatica or any other pain that is stopping you from moving well then get in touch with us to book your FULL BODY MOT sessions or have a chat.