When it feels like a gnarly-toothed troll has taken up residence in my tush, then it is obvious that my sciatic pain is back. ::Grrr::
I have had my fair share of sciatic pain but it’s been a few years since it has been bad and this week? VOILA!
Roll out your sciatic pain on a 6″ foam roller. Ahhhh….. relief…..
Our teaching schedule became a little busier this month and my sciatic is now a cranky little putz. Here’s what I do for my clients and now, again, for myself when the troll returns.
5 ways to Give the Boot to the Pain in Your Bootie (Sciatic Pain)
- Walk 20-30′ briskly on a zero incline. If the pain increases stop. The idea here is to loosen up the spine and therefore loosen up the bootie.
- If walking without a limp is impossible, then I would recommend medium-light weight on the Pilates reformer. Continue for 20-30′. (See why the weight has to be light-ish?) The purpose of this is the same as #1; hence the long time period.
- Side-lying leg work. Lie on your side. Bend the bottom leg and straighten the top. Lift the top leg off the floor just to hip height (10x’s). Follow this exercise be small leg circles. Again no higher than hip height. And again 10 in each direction.
- Use a 6″ diameter foam roll to steamroll your tush. See the pic. This exercise is similar to a deep tissue massage of the area. I also like to ‘steamroll’ the IT Band. The IT band is on the side of the leg between the knee and the hip. Don’t roll over your hip or knee bones. They will NOT appreciate it!
- A popular stretch for sciatica as mentioned by @MelMajoros on Twitter is the ‘Figure Four’ Stretch. Lie on your back with knees bent, soles of the feet on the floor. Place one ankle on the opposite knee. Put your hands under that opposite knee and pull it to your chest. Ahhhhh… relief!