Sciatic Exercise | How Warm Water Gets You Going Again
Sciatic Exercise doesn’t really sound like something you want to know about. You are in pain. How are you supposed to exercise? But really, though bed rest may be a very good idea when you are experiencing an acute sciatica flare up, when going on too long it’ll do you more harm than good (too long is more than a couple of days). It is best to get back to your regular routine as soon as you can (of course avoiding what got you here in the first place). When your pain lessens, start looking into the different possibilities for sciatica exercises, according to the cause of your sciatica pain. What may do one condition a world of good may seriously aggravate a different condition. For that very reason you should always consult a physician before getting started with your sciatica exercises, since you need to know when you can start exercising, with what frequency and what types of exercises would do you good.
Having said that, I’d like to focus on a particular type of sciatic exercises, which will probably be one of the most beneficial types of treatments for your sciatica pain: warm water exercises. Even though at the beginning of a sciatica flare up it is better to treat with cold rather than heat, once the healing process is underway warm water is very beneficial in a number of ways.
Soaking in warm water will help relax you, it also increases blood flow and will help to soften up tightened muscles. Warm water will help to speed up your healing process. It’ll augment your range of movement, since warm water makes tight muscles more pliable. You might want to take a warm bath before doing your exercises (don’t overdo it, since at some point your body temperature will rise too high).
Now, being nicely relaxed and all, you could try some water exercises. They are much easier to do than regular exercises, since being in the water will take most of the weight and pressure off your back, joints, ligaments, disks and muscles; it also lowers the pain associated with some of the exercises, especially in the beginning, when there is still some stiffness, and the fear of possible pain, which in itself can make you tense up.
The water’s density will make your muscles work harder while simultaneously it’ll reduce the stress for your entire body. Just marching or walking in the water can be a good start to reduce muscle spasms and pain.
Water exercises altogether and warm water exercises in particular are a great starting point for exercises in general to treat your sciatica or other kinds of back pain. Warm water exercises are among the most beneficial types of exercises, since they will strengthen the muscles you need to keep your spine aligned and the pressure off the sciatic nerve and also reduce inflammation due to increased blood flow.
In addition to water exercises there is a wide variety to exercises you can work you way up to step by step. But before starting your back exercises (now that you’ve spoken to your physician and know which exercises are for your condition), make sure you always start with 5 minutes of warm up; like taking a short walk or using the exercise bike, or even just march in place.
In the beginning you should probably only do gentle stretching exercises for your back and then bit by bit grow into back and abdominal exercises to build strength. It would probably also be a good idea to add in some low impact aerobic exercises, like swimming. When finding a good balance with all these exercises you use a wide selection of muscle groups and that in turn will help you to prevent future flare ups.
To sum it up: Sciatica and exercises can’t be kept apart if your goal is pain relief and strengthening in the long run. Make sure to speak to a back specialist prior to starting your exercise routine or self-treating your causes and symptoms, just so you can be sure what you are able to and should and shouldn’t do.
Want to find out more about sciatic exercise, then visit Christina Meier’s site on how to choose the best sciatic exercises for your sciatica.
Interesting. I’d probably recommend that to my father. Of course, I’ll suggest it with his physician.