In my previous post, we began the series on my favorite exercises for back pain coming from sciatica that I give all my Physical Therapy patients in the Elizabeth and Jersey City clinics. We started out with a simple prone prop up on the elbows. Now that we’ve got the basic prone prop up on the elbows down pat, and once that exercise can be performed with absolutely no discomfort or pain, we can now follow the progression into the next motion:
When undergoing a course of Physical Therapy for sciatica, an efficient recovery includes home exercises that patients must complete in order to have the best chance and reducing pain symptoms and getting better faster. Studies have shown that skilled Physical Therapy in the clinic in conjunction with a good home exercise program produce the best and most efficient recoveries from back pain due to sciatica.
So what we’ll do is go through my top home exercises for sciatica that I regularly recommend for all my back pain and sciatica Physical Therapy patients
As we’ve continued our series on sciatica, I think it would be a great idea to give you a sense of what to look for. Not all back pain is created equal, and it would be very helpful to know what to look for when looking for symptoms that might signal sciatica, so that you can communicate this to your Physical Therapist when you go in for your Physical Therapy appointment.
In order to help my Physical Therapy patients in Elizabeth and Jersey City get back in to tip top shape after experiencing a setback due to the symptoms of sciatica creeping up on you, l have created what I like to call “The 3 Phases of Healing.” These 3 phases create realistic, definable goals that you, the patient, can use to measure your progress on how your Physical Therapy is progressing. So let’s go through each one, shall we?
Sciatica. In my experience in Physical Therapy, my patients in Jersey City and Elizabeth have definitely heard the term before, but there is a struggle to really define what it is. In order to clear up this confusion, I thought it would be a great idea to jump right in and define what sciatica is, plus go into common causes for the condition.
There are many instances throughout the years when clients have come in citing“knee pain”. And, understandably, patients rightfully assume that the source of pain has to be 100% in the knee. However, what isn’t necessarily known is that knee pain might not be originating from the knee at all!
Planking. It has become one of the “go-to” exercises for so many gym rats that are looking to strengthen their core in order to stave away back pain.
But how effective is a plank, really? Dr. Asha has the answer for you now!
Recently I have discussed the stretches necessary for preventing lower back pain in the workplace as well as my top secrets for reducing pain upon the start of a lower back pain attack, but I am here today to answer the questions about lumbar braces.
Many people always ask me on their first visit “Should I buy a lumbar brace” or what can I buy, or “I saw this on an infomercial, it looks great, and I just bought it what do you think?”
Well…
This month, Consumer Reports published an article that detailed the new standards for back pain relief. This article specifically references the new guidelines for back-pain treatment as outlined by the American College of Physicians in February.
In the new guidelines, the ACP points out that medical imaging as well as the prescription of opioids have not significantly reduced patients’ perception of pain or actual disability. What we would like to focus on is that we believe that Physical Therapy should be your FIRST line of defense for back pain, and here’s why.
As I was driving in to the Physical Therapy clinic in Elizabeth, NJ, I was thinking about my children. It dawned on me as to why they are so resilient when they fall, or that they can stay longer in a seated or standing position. Well, of course, they are younger so their lower backs have not been succumbed to the pressure of age and time and as well there is more water in their discs vs someone at age 40, but in reality there is one very simple word that explains why they are able to bounce back so fast…
