Treating Sciatica - 3 Stretching Exercises For Immediate Sciatica Relief

spinal stenosis

Treating sciatica does not have to involve subjecting yourself to complicated surgical procedures, taking medications, or making frequent trips to see a chiropractor. There is no reason why you should not be able to treat sciatica on your own, using nothing but natural means, from the comfort of your own home.

There are many different ways to go about treating sciatica naturally, such as by performing low-impact aerobic exercise or by undergoing massage therapy. But no methods are nearly effective at treating sciatica as the act of performing stretching exercises. Stretching is by far one of the single most effective means to alleviate the symptoms, if not completely cure, sciatica. Done frequently and consistently, you could pretty much completely cure your sciatica within a matter of days.

Let's take a look at 3 sample stretching exercises that can be used to treat this condition and provide you with immediate symptomatic relief:

1. Sit down on the floor with one leg stretched straight out in front of you. Grabbing the ankle of your other leg, pull your other leg in towards your chest, and hold it there for a few seconds. Now extend your leg back out in front of you. Repeat this exercise for at least ten repetitions with both of your legs.

2. Lie face down on the floor. Prop your upper body up onto your elbows. This arc in your back will cause your spine to curve upwards. Stretch your spine to maximize this curvature. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds.

3. Lie down flat on your back. Pull the knee on the side of your body that is experiencing pain, up towards the shoulder on the same side of your body. Hold this position for at least 10 seconds. Then, release this leg and then pull this same knee toward the opposite shoulder, again holding for about 10 seconds. Repeat this exercise for at least 10 repetitions. Repeat for the other knee if you are also experiencing pain on the other side of your body as well.

You may find these stretching exercises to be painful, difficult, and outright impossible to perform at first. But as you ease your way into the initial repetition, and hold the position for the specified number of seconds, you will begin to feel the tension in your muscles ease up, and the exercise should become easier. It should definitely become easier with each step.