So you’ve gotten through part 2 of my top home exercises for back pain due to sciatica without pain. Great! Looks like you’re progressing quite well with my 3 Phases of Healing. I think it’s time to take these Physical Therapy exercises to the next step and get up onto our feet, shall we?
Now, with these easy Physical Therapy exercises, we’ve been trying to accomplish the goal of taking pressure off the sciatic nerve by pushing the spinal discs forward, thereby stopping it from pressing up against the sciatic nerve that runs along the back of your spine. The prone prop ups and prone press ups that we’ve gone over are two very simple ways of starting this process.
Our last top exercise, and my favorite to recommend in Physical Therapy, really ramps up the pain relieving effects:
The Standing Back Bend
Similar to the prone prop ups and press ups, the standing back bend takes it to the next step by offering increased range of motion. Previously, Dr. James included the standing back bend as his first top exercise in his blog for dealing with general office back pain. He included this great demonstration video:
A couple of things to note regarding this stretch. First, remember to perform this stretch GENTLY. As Dr. James stated in the video, stretching, whether as a part of a general exercise routine or as a part of a is an exercise that is best performed gently so as to lessen the chance for re-injury and also so that you can accurately pay attention as to whether or not it is having an effect. Second, make sure that you do the 10 second hold and repeat 10 times for the greatest effect.
Dr. Asha Koshy is a Physical Therapist and co-owner of Complete Physical Rehabilitation in Jersey City and Elizabeth, NJ.
She is a McKenzie certified back pain Physical Therapist specialist, an LSVT BIG certified specialist for Parkinson’s Disease, and also specializes in treating Vestibular conditions relating to vertigo, dizziness, and other balance disorders.