Sciatica Stretches – Any Time, Any Where

Sciatica, well-known as sciatic nerve pain, can be a painful disease that can truly degrade your quality of life if remained untreated.Sciatica stretches can truly help you on your road to becoming pain free, but first you need to understand how sciatica is caused.

Essentially, sciatica is nerve damage that has been triggered by either stress, or tight muscles pinching the nerve.Because the sciatic nerve starts in your lower back, and travels down, all the way through the back of your leg and hamstrings, overly tight muscles can create a pinch, which can cause pain.

Generally tight muscles suggest a weakness in the surrounding muscles, and that is the most common cause of sciatica.Sciatica stretches and regular sciatica exercises can really assist to overcome this, and ease your numbing nerve pain.

Another cause of sciatic nerve damage is occupations such as truck driving, where you  are sitting for a prolonged period, and being bounced around at the same time, which applies pressure  and stress on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica can also be caused by a herniated lumbar disc, in which case, only performing sciatica  stretches won't help too much, and can in fact in up damaging your sciatic nerve further.

Consider  one of these simple exercises to help you find outthe type of sciatica you may be suffering  from. Sit in a chair and stretch the leg with the side you are having pain on, out straight.If your pain increases, most likely true sciatica is to blame, and you have a  herniated disk.Another test that is helpful in discovering where your sciatica is developing,  is gently pulling your knee on your painful side, to your shoulder on the same side.  Then relax a  bit and proceed to pull the knee towards the opposite shoulder, and gauge your pain.If it is more painful pulling to  the opposite shoulder, then most likely you are suffering from sciatica induced by tight muscles.

Here are 2 simple Sciatic nerve stretching exercisesyou can perform to help relieve your pain. The first one you perform the same exercise as listed above under the test exercises, but you do it lying down on your back. This can help stretch out tight hamstrings. Be careful though as this can aggravate a herniated disc.

The second sciatica stretchesyou can perform is a yoga move, where you lie flat on your tummy, and proper yourself up on your elbows while looking up slightly. This creates a slight curve in your lower spine and helps to relieve pressure and pain. But again, be careful, because if your sciatica is caused by a facet syndrome, this can aggravate it.

Also, sometimes this may aggravate your pain temporarily, but it usually improves with repetition, and it is better to get up and move around for a bit in between repetitions, and take a break. Both of these sciatica exercises can help you heal, as long as you perform them several times a day for as long as you feel nerve pain or numbness, and there are no other causes of your sciatica you are unaware of.

Another thing to remember is that sciatica is seldom caused by just one factor. Sometimes, it may be due to facet syndrome, which I briefly mentioned above. That involves rear joints at the base of your spine. In such case, extending your back like mentioned above can actually exacerbate your symptoms, and it is recommended to lie flat on your back and hug your knees. However, again this can put pressure on any herniated disc problems. Thus, to consult your physician before embarking on any Sciatica nerve stretches, and find out precisely where the cause of the pain is originating from, is the safest and smartest route to take.You can then be referred to a specialist who can show you the proper exercises and sciatica stretches you should be undertaking.