Doing the Correct Stretching Exercises For Sciatica

Sciatica is a problem that affects millions of people and only a small percentage of the people get permanent relief from it. This is not because there are no treatments or cures for it, but because people don`t take action and simple have no idea what to do. Stretching is very important and it can be very helpful, but in order to make it work, you need to know which stretches you need to be working on. Doing the right stretching exercises for sciatica is essential.

Stretching exercises for sciatica

If you have sciatic nerve pain, then you need to be focusing on targeted stretching. This means doing stretching exercises that target a specific muscle group or muscle to increase the flexibility and range of motion of that area and bring joints and bones back to their correct positions.

The reason why so many stretches, that are used in Yoga and Pilates are not working, is because they don`t target the areas that cause the sciatica. The most common cause of sciatica is muscle imbalancement. When different muscle groups are out of balance, then this in turn pulls the joints, bones and pelvis out of their correct positions. If the exercises you are doing, do not help to restore the muscle balancement, then they are useless.

There is one really effective stretching exercise, that you can try right now. Firstly, lie on your back on the floor. Then hold your left knee and pull it towards your right shoulder. You really need to pull the knee and foot across your body, then hold this position for around half a minute and repeat with the other leg. This is simple but effective. Of course you need to be doing a lot more exercises and stretches to have get any permanent relief but it is a start.