Benefits of Exercise for People With Sciatica

By Rocky C Rhodes

The spine is a highly complex piece of structural anatomy. Due to its intricacy, if not properly maintained, it can suffer damage or injury in the bones, cartilage, nerves, and connecting muscles and ligaments. One such condition that afflicts many people is sciatica, which manifests itself as pain, numbness, or spasms stemming from the lower back through the upper legs. Luckily sciatica exercises have effectively prevented or treated this condition in many cases.
What Is Sciatica?
Sciatica derives its name from the sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the lower body, originating near the lower spine, and traveling under the buttock, and down the interior of the femur. Sciatica pain can from the low back to the toes, but is usually most intense in the buttock and pelvic region. Sensations vary widely between patients from numbness and tingling to severe and immobilizing pain, usually only on one side of the body.
Typically the pain will intensify at night, after sitting still for a long time, when sneezing, laughing, or coughing, or after walking. Unless there are underlying conditions, the pain will often go away in a few months, or it can and come and go over time. If the pain lasts for more than a month or is particularly intense when sneezing or coughing, you may need to allow more time for recovery. Luckily, learning the right exercises will help treat and prevent your sciatica pain.
Physical Therapy

It is vital that those with low back pain begin a gentle exercise program to reduce their pain. For patients with severe symptoms, physical therapy is a great way to learn proper techniques to eliminate your pain for good. A licensed professional will design a program specific to your needs, with a thorough understanding of the limitations caused by your condition. Although it is possible to design a program on your own, one New York Times study indicates that doing so will yield less results than a formal physical therapy program.
The first benefit of physical therapy is that it will educate you and train your body how to use the correct movement patterns not only while exercising, but when performing daily tasks. Secondly, you will learn exercises to help you keep your spine in a neutral position during your daily activities. According to most therapists, using incorrect movement patterns or engaging in high-impact exercise for a long time is the fastest way to develop sciatica pain.
Benefits of Exercising for Sciatica
By regularly performing exercises for your core and back, you may start to see an improvement in your sciatica pain. However, in order to see the benefits of exercising regularly, it is important that you do not push yourself too hard. This is where the guidance and program design of a professional will help you make the most of your training and recover from your sciatica.

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