Exercises to Relieve Sciatica and Low Back Pain
By Dr. Mercola
If you have back pain or sciatic nerve pain, you're not alone.
Globally, one out of 10 people suffers from lower back pain, and back
pain is also the number one cause of job disability worldwide.
The problem appears to be particularly prevalent in the US. According to
estimates, as many as eight out of 10 Americans struggle with back pain, and this affliction has now become a primary cause of pain killer addiction.
I was one of its victims because I failed to appreciate the dangers of
excessive sitting and suffered with low back pain for many years. Now I
firmly believe back pain can be successfully treated using a combination
of posture-correcting exercises and strictly limiting sitting.
Sadly, opioid drugs are typically prescribed as a first line of treatment for back pain,1
not exercise, and these drugs have now surpassed both heroin and
cocaine as the leading cause of fatal drug overdoses in the US.
If you have back pain and suffer depression or anxiety you're at
even greater risk for opioid abuse and addiction, according to recent
research.
Depression Combined with Back Pain Raises Risk of Drug Abuse
As reported by Medical News Today,2
55 chronic lower back patients with symptoms of depression or anxiety
participated in the study. During a six month period, they were given
either morphine, oxycodone, or a placebo to take as needed for the pain.
Those who rated high in terms of anxiety or depression not only
experienced greater side effects; they also got less relief from the
drugs, and were more likely to abuse them.
Compared to those with low levels of depression or anxiety, these patients experienced:
- 50 percent less improvement of their back pain
- 75 percent more opioid abuse
According to the authors, this highlights the importance of
identifying symptoms of depression prior to prescribing opioid
painkillers for back pain, as the risks are so much greater in such
instances, and the benefits more limited.
Common Back Pain Triggers
Understanding what may have triggered your back pain can help you avoid
another episode, but many back pain sufferers tend to misidentify their
triggers. According to recent research,3,4
about two-thirds of the patients blamed a specific incident on the day
their pain began — most typically the lifting of a heavy load.
But lower back pain can actually be triggered days or weeks before any
discomfort sets in, and rarely suspected triggers include alcohol
consumption, sex, being distracted while performing physical tasks, and
fatigue.
Accidents and sports injuries tend to be among the most common causes of chronic back pain. Poor posture, obesity,5 inactivity (especially chronic sitting), and stress can also increase your risk.
That said, while it can help you avoid a recurrence, it's not essential
to determine what triggered your pain in order to successfully address
it.
What to Do When Back Pain Strikes
As reported by the Epoch Times,6
75 to 80 percent of back pain cases will resolve on its own within two
to four weeks, even without treatment. But you can certainly speed up
your recovery.
As an initial step, when pain suddenly strikes, try to relax both your
back and your mind. Applying ice can be helpful, as can getting
acupuncture or chiropractic care.
In lieu of prescription painkillers, try some anti-inflammatory herbs
instead: boswellia, curcumin, and ginger are a few examples. For a more
complete list, please see my previous article "15 Natural Remedies for Back Pain."
And, while many fail to consider this, addressing your emotions is
another important component. Depression and anxiety tends to reduce or
slow down your body's innate capacity for self healing, so when pain
strikes, it may be a sign that you've let emotional difficulties and
stress go unaddressed for too long.
Your brain, and consequently your thoughts and emotions, actually play a
large role in your experience of pain. Your central nervous system
"remembers" any pain that lasts more than a few minutes at the neuronal
level.
These memories can become so vivid that the pain persists even after the
injury has healed, or re-occurs when it shouldn't, such as from a
gentle touch. Retraining your brain using mind-body techniques like the
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can be very helpful in such instances.
In the following video, EFT practitioner Julie Schiffman shows how you can use EFT to relieve your pain, be it acute or chronic.
Addressing Sciatic Nerve Pain
Sciatic nerve pain is another common problem, and it can be quite
excruciating. Sciatica results when your sciatic nerve gets pinched in
your lower back. The pain is typically felt as originating in your
buttock, radiating down your thigh.
Stretching exercises can help reduce sciatic pain. Your sciatic nerve
runs through your piriformis, a muscle located deep in your glutes. If
the piriformis gets too tight, it can impinge the sciatic nerve, causing
pain, tingling, and numbness in your leg. Sometimes, stretching your
piriformis may be enough to reduce the pain. Four exercises to try
include the following. For illustrations demonstrating each stretch,
please see the featured article in Mind Body Green:7
- Piriformis stretch
- Seated hip stretch
- Pigeon pose
- Self-trigger point therapy using a tennis ball or foam roller
The video below also illustrates a simple one-minute daily stretching routine8 that can help reduce sciatic pain stemming from an overly tight piriformis muscle in your buttocks.
Other Treatment Options for Sciatica
A related article in Prevention Magazine9 lists a number of other treatment alternatives for sciatica, including the following:
| Chiropractic care |
In one 2010 study,10
60 percent of people with sciatica who received chiropractic care three
times a week for four weeks experienced the same degree of relief as
those who ended up getting surgery |
| Acupuncture |
Research11 published in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
found that 17 out of 30 patients with sciatica experienced complete
relief with acupuncture. You may need about a dozen treatment sessions
to see improvement |
| Yoga |
As reported in the featured article:12 "A study in the journal Pain
reported that people with chronic back pain who practiced Iyengar yoga
for 16 weeks saw pain reduced by 64 percent and disability by 77
percent. Although yoga's effects on sciatica are less clear, gentle
forms may be beneficial." |
| Pilates |
A recent Spanish study13,14
found that older women with back pain can reduce their pain, improve
balance, and reduce risk of falling by adding Pilates to their
physiotherapy routine. All of the 100 women in the study received 40
minutes of nerve stimulation and 20 minutes of massage and stretching
twice a week. Half of them also did one hour of Pilates twice a week. At
the end of the six-week long study, those taking Pilates reported
greater improvements. |
| Trigger point massage |
Trigger point therapy, where the therapist applies firm pressure to
points on your piriformis, lower back muscles, and glutes, can help
release the pressure and impingement on the sciatic nerve |
| Topical preparations |
Anti-inflammatory oils and liniments can also be helpful. Examples
include St. John's wort oil and cayenne pepper cream. Apply to the
painful area two to three times a day |
Avoiding Sitting May Be Part of the Long-Term Solution for Back Pain
While maintaining proper posture when sitting can be helpful for
avoiding pain in a variety of different areas, including your back,
neck, and shoulders, an even better solution may be to avoid sitting
altogether. I struggled with persistent back pain for many years
despite seeing many chiropractors, stretches and strengthening
exercises, laser treatments, grounding, massage, and using an inversion
table. It wasn't until I decided to experiment with standing as much as
possible that I noticed significant improvement.
Paradoxically, standing initially would cause pain and it was
difficult for me to stand in an hour lecture without pretty severe back
pain. But by reducing my 12 to 14 hours of daily sitting to under one
hour, my back pain vanished. Now I typically sit for less than 30
minutes a day and have been free of low back pain for many months.
I stand most of the day on a 2 foot by 4 foot cushioned grounding pad
that I designed. If you have a desk job, I highly recommend investing
in a stand-up desk. I'm so convinced of the benefits of standing up
rather than sitting down that I'm in the process of providing employees
at my office with stand-up desks, and cushioned grounding pads once we
have them available. Below is the video I shot for our 18th anniversary
showing my home office stand up desk.
This is part and parcel of the evidence that the human body was built
for more or less continuous movement — not consistent strenuous
activity, but gentle non-exercise activity, and this includes simply
standing. In other words, your body ceases to function properly when it
is too still for too long. The evidence suggests sitting for just one
consecutive hour is too long. Ideally, sitting should break up your
movement, not the other way around.
Other Strategies for Preventing Back Pain
Preventing back pain is surely easier than treating it, and there are
many alternatives available, in addition to what I've already mentioned
above. Here are a dozen more tips that can help you lead a pain-free
life:
| Exercise |
Exercise and physical activity will help strengthen the muscles of your spine. Make your exercise time count by including high-intensity sessions.
You probably only need this once or twice a week at the most. You'll
also want to include exercises that really challenge your body intensely
along with those that promote muscle strength, balance, and flexibility.
Yoga,
which is particularly useful for promoting flexibility and core
muscles, has also been proven beneficial if you suffer with back pain.
The Yoga Journal15 has an online page demonstrating specific poses that may be helpful. |
| Mind your posture |
If you spend many hours every day sitting down, pay careful
attention to consciously sucking in your belly and rotating your pelvis
slightly up. At the same time, make sure your head is back, with your
ears over your shoulders, and your shoulder blades pinched. This will
help keep your spine in proper alignment. You can hold these muscles
tight for several minutes and do this once every hour. My interview with Kathleen Porter goes into far more details.
When standing, keep your weight spread evenly on your feet, and don't
slouch when standing or sitting to avoid putting stress on your back
muscles. Always support your back, and avoid bending over awkwardly.
Protect your back while lifting – this activity, along with carrying,
puts the most stress on your back.
Foundation Training
exercises are also excellent, as they work to gradually pull your body
out of the movement patterns that are hurting you. The focus is on
strengthening your core, which helps stabilize your spine, vertebrae,
discs, and pelvis. |
| Vitamin D and K2 |
Optimize your vitamin D and K2 levels to prevent the softening of the bones that can often lead to lower back pain. |
| Grounding |
Grounding yourself to the earth, also known as Earthing,
decreases inflammation in your body, which can help quiet down back
pain and other types of pain. Your immune system functions optimally
when your body has an adequate supply of electrons, which are easily and
naturally obtained by barefoot/bare skin contact with the earth.
Research indicates the earth's electrons are the ultimate antioxidants,
acting as powerful anti-inflammatories. Whenever possible, take a moment
to venture outside and plant your bare feet on the wet grass or sand.
Walking barefoot is also an excellent way to strengthen your feet and
arches. |
| Address psychological factors |
Few people want to be told that their pain is psychological or
emotional in origin, but there's quite a bit of evidence that backs this
up. Dr. John Sarno,16
for example, used mind-body techniques to treat patients with severe
low back pain and has authored a number of books on this topic.
His specialty was those who have already had surgery for low back pain
and did not get any relief. This is one tough group of patients, yet he
had a greater than 80 percent success rate using techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (he has now retired from practice). |
| K-Laser treatment |
Infrared laser therapy treatment helps reduce pain, reduce
inflammation, and enhance tissue healing — both in hard and soft
tissues, including muscles, ligaments, or even bones. These benefits are
the result of enhanced microcirculation, as the treatment stimulates
red blood cell flow in the treatment area. Venous and lymphatic return
is also enhanced, as is oxygenation of those tissues.
The infrared wavelengths used in the K-Laser allow for targeting
specific areas of your body. The K-Laser is unique in that it is the
only Class 4 therapy laser that utilizes the appropriate infrared
wavelengths that allow for deep penetration into the body to reach areas
such as your spine and hip. For more information about this
groundbreaking technology, and how it can help heal chronic pain, please
listen to my previous interview with Dr. Harrington. |
| Stay hydrated |
Drink plenty of water to enhance the height of your intervertebral
disks. Because your body is composed mostly of water, keeping yourself
hydrated will also keep you fluid and reduce stiffness. |
| Avoid smoking |
Smoking reduces blood flow to your lower spine and promotes degeneration of your spinal disks. |
| Pay attention to how — and how long — you sleep |
Studies have linked insufficient sleep with increased back and neck
problems. Also pay attention to your sleep position. Sleep on your side
to reduce curving of your spine, and stretch before getting out of bed. A
firm bed is recommended. |
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