Gentle Exercises for Low Back Pain and Sciatica

The pain of sciatica can be very debilitating.  Sometimes even the most simple tasks such as getting out of bed or walking down the stairs can be painful.  The sciatic nerve is to blame for many cases of burning pain that radiates down the leg.  The nerve itself branches from your spinal cord in your lower back and then goes on to travel down through the hips, buttocks and the back of each leg.  The pain of sciatica can be felt anywhere along the course of the nerve.

Gentle exercise can be a way to ease the pain of low back pain with sciatica and may help to prevent future flare-ups.  Some exercises that may help include:

• Yoga or Pilates

• Cycling (stationary bike is ok)

• Swimming or gentle water aerobics

• Daily stretching

Low Back Pain, Sciatica and Your Spine

The vertebrae of your spine have the important job of protecting your spinal cord.  The spinal cord sends and receives signals between the brain and body.  Your atlas vertebra, the uppermost one in the spine, is the most freely movable vertebra.  When it misaligns, it can create tension in the spinal cord, which can interrupt the signals travelling between brain and body.  This can cause imbalances in posture, unequal muscle tension, muscle spasm, pain and discomfort.  Sciatica can result from the additional strain on the tissues of the lower back and subsequent irritation of the sciatic nerve.

Upper cervical chiropractic care addresses the cause of many spinal issues at their root – the atlas.  NUCCA care is a gentle and precise way of adjusting the atlas.  Once the atlas is realigned, the pressure on the spinal cord is reduced.  This restores normal brain-body communication and also brings balance back to posture and muscles.  Removing spinal cord tension and reducing compensations can lead to the reduction or even elimination of low back pain and stubborn sciatica.

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/multimedia/sciatic-nerve/img-20008248

https://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/sciatica-exercises-sciatica-pain-relief

About the Author

Dr. Miguel Flores, D.C

N8 Upper Cervical Chiropractic

When I discovered Chiropractic. My father took me to see a chiropractor, the first in the Philippines at the time. He examined me, found the cause of the problem and gave me my first adjustment- one that would set me towards a path of true health and well being.