Sciatica is a common problem that up to 40% of people will experience in their lifetime. The hallmark symptoms of sciatica include a painful “nerve-like” shooting sensation in either one leg or the other, predominately occurring after the 4th decade of life. It affects both genders equally and can truly be a nuisance to handle. If you think you might have “sciatica” try these tips to reduce your pain and live a healthier life.

1. Empty your pockets

One of the main culprits that creates sciatic pain is carrying an object in your back pocket. Over time, especially if your job requires constant sitting, pressure from your wallet causes ischemia to the nerve and can result in local numbness in the butt cheek. The pressure from the wallet can potentially cause numbness and tingling further down the line of the sciatic nerve as well. The good news is that this is a correctable problem. As soon as you move your wallet, you should notice an improvement in symptoms. The numbness and tingling should abate.

2. Learn nerve glides

Nerve glides are mobility exercises that professionals like physical therapists prescribe to improve symptoms of sciatica. Your symptoms could be caused by either a proximal nerve root entrapment at the low back, or a distal nerve root entrapment further away from your spine and down your leg. There are several spots in the back of the leg where your sciatic and other nerves can get “stuck” in tight fascia. Type this into your browser for exercises to beat low back pain and sciatica: https://bit.ly/3izc6xZ

3. Do this, not that - standing v sitting

Do you sit a lot for work? If so, you have a greater likelihood of developing symptoms related to low back pain and sciatica. Over time sitting for more than 4 or 5 hours a day causes your spine to lose its flexibility, and your spinal disks experience a phenomena called “creep.” This phenomena results in the spinal disks crowding the posterior canals of the spine causing inflammation and potential nerve impingement creating “sciatica”-  or nerve like sensations down the spine. If you sit during the day for an extended period of time, my advice is to add prone press ups to your routine. Unsure what those are? Simply lie on your stomach on the ground and lift up your head and chest to extend your low back. That is a prone press up. It will greatly help your low back if you sit for prolonged periods of time. 

4.   If you’re a smoker, quit

Smoking is a leading risk factor for low back and sciatic pain. Those who smoke tend to show worse rehab outcomes overall. Low back pain and sciatica rehab time, also, takes twice as long on average for smokers. Science points to the fact that nicotine reduces the blood flow to your intervertebral disks. Your disks are responsible for the “cushioning” effect between vertebra. When the cushion is reduced due to degeneration secondary to poor blood flow, it opens the door to bone-on-bone facet joint disease and spine degeneration. When the sciatic nerve has less space to move (through the nerve root foramen), it gets “pinched,” requiring extensive mobility work in order to restore normal function.

5.   Exercise regularly

Diabetes and obesity are both directly tied to the occurrence of sciatica (and low back pain).  Regular exercise works to improve blood flow to the muscles of your core. Squats (when properly performed) will improve bone density and spinal disc nutrition over time. Since your spinal disks get their nutrition through osmosis, it is important that they are loaded axially (from above) with safe loads to improve spine health. So if you are looking to eliminate the nerve pain in your legs, make sure you exercise regularly!