Sciatica pain is an outward condition for very painful symptoms of the lower back and legs.
Sciatica Stretches For Pain Relief
People suffering from sciatica experience pain running from their lower back through their legs.
The pain is of varying intensity ranging from mild to severe, which can hinder simple activities like standing or brisk walking.
It is the longest nerve in the body that provides sensation to the leg and feet, and the painful condition of the nerve can be managed by certain stretching exercises.
Stretches for pain relief:
The most efficient way to deal with sciatica pains is to strengthen the muscles using stretching exercises.
A few of the exercises that are advised by medical experts include reclining pigeon pose, sitting pigeon pose, forward pigeon pose, knee to the opposite shoulder, sitting spinal stretch, and standing hamstring stretch.
Understanding the stretches:
The first one is the reclining pigeon pose. This is done in a lying position, the right leg is lifted at a right angle, and the fingers of both hands are locked behind the thighs.
The left leg is then lifted and the right ankle is placed on the left side knee.
The position is to be held o to for some time as it relaxes the muscle adjoining the sciatica nerves and eases the pain.
The sitting pigeon position refers to sitting on the ground and stretching out our legs ahead of us.
The right leg is bent to put the right ankle on the left knee.
Next, we have to lean ahead to allow our upper body to touch our thighs.
This position has to be held on to for 15-120 seconds till it relaxes the muscle and repeated a number of times
In the forward pigeon position, the person has to kneel on the floor, then pick up the right leg and move it ahead in front of the body.
The lower leg should be aligned horizontally to the body, and the right foot should be placed ahead of the left knee while holding the right knee to the left side.
The left leg should be stretched behind the body with toes pointing back.
The weight of the body is to be shifted from arms to legs; as such, the legs are supporting the weight of the body.
A deep breath is to be taken, and while exhaling, the upper body should lean forward, and the process is to be repeated on another side.
Knee to opposite shoulder is a very simple stretching exercise. For this, we need to lay on our back with legs ahead of us and bent upward.
The right leg has to be bent with hand fingers locked around the knee.
The right leg should be gently dragged near the left shoulder and hold in the position for 30 seconds.
The knee should be pulled only till we can feel a relaxing stretch on the muscle and not a painful pull.
The leg should be returned to the standing position and repeat 3 times before starting the exercise on another leg.
The sitting spinal stretch is done by sitting on the ground and stretching the legs ahead of us with feet bent upwards.
The right knee is to be bent and the foot should be placed in front of the opposite knee.
The left elbow is to be placed outside the right knee to turn the body towards the right.
The position is to be held for 30 seconds and repeated thrice, then exercised on the other leg.
The standing hamstring stretch is the last one of the stretching exercise, in the right foot has to be placed above our hip level, bent our foot so that our toes and legs are straight.
The body should be bent forward near the foot.
It should not be pushed too far to cause pain.
The raised leg hip should be relaxed and hold on to the position for 30 seconds, then repeat with the other leg.
Exercising with care and caution:
As suggested by experts, individuals suffering from sciatica pain should follow utmost care and caution while practicing the exercises.
Any discomfort felt during the stretches should be noticed and discussed with the doctor.
It is worthy to note here that the stretching exercises are aimed at relieving pain and inflammation of the sciatica nerves and not cause additional agony.