Instant Pain Relief: Effective Home Remedies for Sciatica

Sciatica.  

Tingling, burning, numbness down the leg.  Sometimes sharp pains or weakness in the hip or back...

Not fun.  

What IS sciatica, really?

Most people would say it's a "pinched nerve."  The sciatic nerve branches out from your lower back.  Lumbar discs 4, 5, and the sacrum all have sciatic nerve roots.  The sciatic nerve is the longest, thickest nerve in the body.  It ends at your knee where it branches again into separate nerves that end in your foot.  

Piriformis syndrome is often confused with sciatica.  They're pretty similar.  All the sciatic nerves bunch together and pass in front of your piriformis muscle.  The piriformis wraps around the front to the back of your pelvis.  When the sciatic nerve pain is due to pressure from the piriformis, then it's called "piriformis syndrome."  

Sciatic pain can be anywhere along that pathway, but the root of it (so to speak) is at the nerve...root. 

When your hips have good alignment and the right muscles are relaxing / contracting, ideally, everything works fine.  

We end up in pain when either (1) there's an injury to the spine or (2) how we're sitting or moving needs modification.  

I want to emphasize that it's not your "fault" if you're having sciatica.  

But it is your responsibility to do something about it.  And there's a lot you can do!  

HOW IS YOUR ALIGNMENT?

Your hips like to be slightly anteverted, which means tipped forward.  If you have a tucked tailbone position, it's probably because you've done it for years and you're used to it.  Having a tucked tailbone puts undue pressure on lumbar discs 4 and L 5 (sciatic root nerves are there).

Try this:  before you go to sit down, stick your butt out a little further than you're used to.  

To avoid becoming "sway-back," from here, engage the lower abs, which is part of your pelvic floor and your core.  

Make sure that in your car, you're sitting with both heels relatively even and touching the floor.  Make sure both sides of your hips are even when you're sitting down.  

Avoid crossing your legs (for now).  

When you bend to lift something, or even just bending forward to - for example - wash the dishes, it's important to keep your back straight and core engaged.  Bending your knees generously when you reach toward the ground is helpful.  

When you're standing, keep a slight bend in both knees and try to avoid locking one knee out and having the other leg just hanging there.  Many people do this if you observe folks waiting in a line at any time.  It makes your hips wonky, which is what we're trying to fix.  

YOU CAN DO IT, PUT YOUR @SS INTO IT

My #1 fix for sciatic pain is to engage the glute muscles.  Strong glutes will take the pressure off the nerves in your back.  When we don't fully use the natural strength in the glute muscles, other muscles that aren't designed to work as hard take charge.  This leads to muscle imbalance, tension, and pain.  

Exercises for activating the glutes:  

Bird-Dog

From a strong "table top position," keeping hips LEVEL, bring one leg straight back and the opposite arm straight out.  Hold and breathe for 20-30 seconds per side.  Repeat 2-3 times.  

Lunges

I recommend starting with a high lunge position and getting the form 👌 before moving any lower.  Hips stay (both) facing forward.  Back leg is active.  Lower abs are engaged for a straight spine.  Hold and breathe for 20-30 seconds per side.  Repeat 2-3 times. 

Horse Stance

When I did my black belt test, I had to hold this for 15 minutes. 😅

Make sure your knees and hips EXTERNALLY ROTATE so you don't hurt yourself any further.  Also, start with a "high horse," and work on getting the form 👌 before challenging yourself any further.  

Start with a 15-second horse stance. Repeat 2-3 times.  Every day is good for this one.   

STRETCHING THE GLUTES

People tend to either need to strengthen more or to stretch more.  Rarely both because we tend to practice more of one or the other.  The only way to know is to give both a try. 

And really, we ALL need to do both REGULARLY.  

Hint:  If you're stretching your heart out and there's not much change, that's your sign to put more focus into strengthening.  

These are the most common sciatica stretches:

Figure-4 Stretch

You can do this on the floor or in a chair.  Keeping both hips even, cross one ankle on top of the opposite knee.  This may be enough!  For some people, just getting their leg in place IS the stretch.  And that's OK! 

One your leg is there, work on pushing the elevated knee toward the ground.  This is muscle ACTIVATION.  

If you want to deepen the stretch, lean forward.  

Stay and breathe for 5-10 deep, slow breaths.  Repeat on the other side.  

Hamstring Floss 

Laying on the floor, on your back, grab behind one leg.  Pull it toward your face. 

Now, completely straighten your leg.  To do this, you may have to lower the leg quite a bit.  You may even need a yoga band to help you reach if your leg is really tight.  

Extra:  Start with a pointed toe.  After you straighten your leg, flex your toes.   

Move slow and repeat 2-8 times on each side.  

Other important things to remember: 

Stay away from ice.  

Ice / cold contracts and contracted tissues don't receive as much blood flow.  Your circulation is what will allow the muscles to relax and the area to heal.  Stay away from ice; only use heat.  

Herbs and supplements to help with sciatic pain:  

turmeric (do not take if pregnant) ~ 3-5 grams per day; fish oil (~ 1 Tablespoon per day).  

If you want my help on overcoming your sciatic or piriformis problem, schedule a free consultation here.  You don't need to suffer through this alone.