If you’re suffering from sciatica, you might be wondering how exercise can naturally fix sciatica. Oftentimes, people don’t know what kind of exercises to do, and they don’t get the right guidance on how to change them over time. But they’ll get some relief from doing stretches, and even taking pain medications.

In some cases, injections and even surgery are done. But it’s not natural. There are some side effects and consequences. And in some cases, it doesn’t even work to get the injections or surgery. But exercise consistently helps sciatica problems. I’m going to give you the details about how that works today, in case you’re wondering how exercise might benefit your specific sciatica issue.

First, let’s begin by talking about the root problem of sciatica issues. In 9 out of 10 cases, that we see here in the clinic at El Paso Manual Physical Therapy, there’s some joint issue that has set off this sciatica problem. It might be in the lower back, it might be in the pelvis, it might be in the hip or knee as well. In some cases, it’s all the way into the foot. But fixing that joint issue at the very root is where we start off.

Joints are made to move, and they’re controlled by muscles, and we work them out using exercises. Finding the right exercises to move the joints and to keep them moving is critical. Up in the pelvis, that’s the most common joint shift, or joint restriction that we see. If you think of the pelvis bones, the bones that are at the bottom of the spine and make up the hip joints. They have the ability to shift, they can twist and turn and shift up and down.

The tailbone as well, which is part of the pelvis, it can also shift where the sciatic nerve comes out of the pelvis near the tailbone and the backside of those pelvis bones. If that shift happens, it can pinch that sciatic nerve and begin to set off that sciatic nerve problem.

The root problem though, is usually some sort of muscle imbalance, some exercise that has been done incorrectly, or a lack of exercise in many cases, that’s causing those pelvis bones to shift. In some cases, it is an accident, like a car accident or a fall of some sort, that set up that shift as well. And in that case, it’s typically easier to fix than then a long-term chronic problem that began out of nowhere.

But given the right exercises, strengthen the right muscle groups, it can begin to pull those bones into the right spot so that it gives the sciatic nerve plenty of space in the opening where it comes out to go down your leg. Exercise keeps this at bay as well.

Here in the clinic, I’m a male therapist so we can shift those bones, we can free up those joints. There are other medical professionals out there that can do this like chiropractors as well. Osteopath is another one. Some massage therapists might even know how to do this as well. But it’s not going to stay unless we meet it with some sort of exercise.

There needs to be exercise involved in order to keep the pelvis moving the way that it should be stabilized the way that it should be and symmetrical, because you don’t want it to be asymmetrical that pinches nerves. The exercise keeps the bones and the joints normal for the long term. So this sciatica problem doesn’t begin to recur, that it’s not an ongoing thing that always bothers you, every three months, every six months or every year.

Even if you got a desk job or if you tend to sit a lot, because that’s kind of part of your routine and part of your normal activities, then you’ve got to watch out for certain weaknesses that are going to creep up on you. Oftentimes people that sit for work or for their normal routine, they get weak abs and weak butt muscles. Those are the two biggest muscle groups that contribute to that pelvis being lined up properly.

They also help out the spine, the lower back where the nerve roots come out for the sciatic nerve to move properly and give spacing for those nerves to come out. So exercising these muscle groups, so the ABS and the glutes are critical in making sure that the core the lumbar spine, the lower back, and the pelvis, the hip bones are properly positioned and everything’s normal, the forces are normal.

Even if you sit all day long, because that’s your job, you might be an accountant or a lawyer or have some other sort of computer desk job. medical professionals also sit often as well. those muscles need to get some sort of regular activity so that they can hold the joints together the way they’re intended to. If you are very strong, but you’re just not moving a whole lot, those joints can actually still shift and begin to put pressure on that sciatic nerve inadvertently.

If you’re thinking about doing exercises for your sciatica problem, if you’re looking to find a natural fix for your static or problem exercise is the way to go. But making sure you do the right ones is really important. If you’re looking for a great start on exercises to do for your sciatica problem, there are two places that you can look where we offer our exercises.

Number one on our YouTube channel, find the playlist for sciatica and you’ll find tons of great exercises that you can begin doing right away. Number two is go to our website, www.EPmanualphysicaltherapy.com and on the right side, there’s a little magnifying glass, click on that and type in sciatica. Every single video or exercise related to sciatica will come out for you. And you can begin to look at those as well.

But let me talk to you about a few other things that people do for sciatica. One of the most common things we see is people going to go get injections for it, they will get injected in the lower back area or down into the hips and the pelvis area. And this is great to do if you just can’t walk or if you’re just super grumpy because of your sciatica problem.

If you need that help, by all means go for it. But just realize that it is not a good long-term fix. It’s pain medication that they’re injecting directly into the area where the doctor seems, sees that there’s a big problem. But it’s not going to fix the joints not going to fix the muscle strength, it’s not going to help you move better, it’s not going to calm the nerves down for the long term, it really is a short-term fix. You know, it’s a longer fix than taking pain medications by mouth, but it still ends and it’s not addressing the root problem.

Exercise truly helps out for the long term. Now you have to keep it up, you have to maintain some strength. But once you get your strength to a certain level, and you know what to do, what works for you, what few key exercises or movements you need to be doing for your sciatica problem, it’s quite easy to manage. It’s just a matter of doing those movements. It might be once every couple of days or a few times a week, or maybe daily for you. But it just takes a couple of minutes and it’s fast. Another thing that people go try is surgery.

Now, surgery for sciatica directly doesn’t exist to my knowledge. But oftentimes people will go get an MRI, and they’ll find that there’s a herniated disc in their lower back, or some sort of pinched nerve, or some other condition like stenosis is going on. And a surgeon might look at that and say, Hey, I think this is part of your sciatica problem. If I go in there and fix that for you through surgery, it might alleviate your sciatica problem.

And you got to watch out for this, because there are tons of reasons why sciatica can happen, it might be a knee problem or a hip problem. If they want to go into your low back, that might just be one factor out of many that are contributing to your sciatica problem. And although the surgeon has great intent, I’m sure and doesn’t want to mess with you negatively in any way. They just may not see the full picture, they’re looking at it through tunnel vision and trying to just see what they can fix surgically with their hands, because that’s what they’re trained to do.

So, if you have a sciatica problem, make sure that whoever you’re seeing for this has a big picture, or understand that they’re not if that’s just their specialty, like surgery, for instance. And oftentimes surgeons will refer you out to another medical professional before trying surgery.

We don’t think ill of any surgeons out there, we just want to make sure that you have all the information possible to make the best decision about your sciatica problem, and so that you know who to see and how many people to see and what to consider whenever you’re looking at your sciatica issue.

So those are some things that people try in order to treat their sciatica problem. But I want you to understand, and know that exercise truly is the cure. It truly is the thing that you need to be doing if you’ve got a sciatica issue. Now finding the right exercises and the right progression. Because if the first exercise you might try today are the ones that we have on our videos and our blogs may not be the long-term ones that you keep up. They might just be the step one, in many steps.

Because fixing sciatica naturally is a process. It’s not just like you find that one exercise that you do. And that’s it, you have to progress it over time and then land at a few exercises that you keep up long term and even those might need to change one day. But understanding how this process occurs is kind of complicated for some people.

Some people figure it out on their own. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by patients that come in and have gotten themselves better, but they just need a little bit of help at the end. But most of the time patients that come in here are not sure where they were where to start from what exercise to do. They’ve tried some exercises, it actually got worse. And then some patients have come in and done a couple things that have benefited but they’re stuck there. They’re plateauing, and they can get all the way better.

Finding an expert to help you out with this is huge, because they’ll get you unstuck, they’ll make sure you’re off the path of feeling worse with exercise and on the right path to feeling better with exercise. So I’m a huge proponent of talking to an expert so that you can make sure you’re not wasting any time and causing further problems by leaving that sciatica problem untreated.

If this video was helpful for you, if you’re listening to this video and you’re thinking, I need to see an expert, let me call you guys. You’re welcome to do so. Hit the cost and availability tab up at the top of our website. And you’ll get taken to a forum where you can leave us all your details about your sciatica problem.

Once you submit that form, one of my staff will call you back as fast as they can to discuss more about your sciatica problem and make sure that you’ve got the right kind of sciatica issue that we will be successful in helping out with. We just don’t want to waste your time. If you are a good fit, we’ll let you know what steps to take next.

Another option is just to call us at 915-503-1314 and we’ll be we’ll begin that conversation on the phone learning about your sciatica problem, and let you know what steps to take next. Hope that we can be part of your success story real soon. Have a wonderful day.

EL PASO MANUAL PHYSICAL THERAPY
2601 E. Yandell Drive, Suite 232
El Paso, Texas 79903

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