3 Quick Ways To Relieve Sciatic Pain

Sciatic Pain Relief in 3 Easy Steps

If you know, you know. Maybe you’re “lucky” and only experience the dull achiness of sciatic pain. Or perhaps you’re feeling the worst of it- the burning sensation or even excruciating pain. Either way, it’s a total pain in the butt…and the leg. The good news is that you’re about to learn 3 ways to help relieve this super frustrating and painful tribulation. 

One Big Reason Behind Sciatic Pain

This irritation could be from something as simple as minor inflammation, or it could be due to a more severe issue such as a herniated disc. As always, it’s important to talk to your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program. 

Here’s How You Get Rid Of Sciatic Pain

So now that you know you’re not alone in experiencing sciatic nerve pain (approximately 40% of people in the U.S. will experience this in their lifetime) and you know more about why sciatic pain can occur, let’s get down to business. Here are 3 exercises/stretches you can do that don’t take a lot of time, but can be incredibly beneficial in helping relieve sciatic nerve pain.

Exercise 1: The Clam

The first exercise is called “The Clam”. The Clam shortens the Piriformis by taking your femur in and out of external rotation. Huh? 

1. Lie down on your side with one leg on top of the other.
2. Pull/bend your knees up halfway.
3. While keeping your feet and ankles together, open the top knee wide and close it. Just like a clam.
4. Repeat 10-15 times on the side that hurts.

It’s important to remember that you only want the leg to move in the hip socket. The pelvis should stay still with the top side stacked on top of the bottom side.

Exercise 2: The Figure Four Stretch

The Figure Four stretch is another way to help relieve sciatic nerve pain. The stretch helps create space in the joint capsule and lengthens the external rotators of the hips. 

1. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent.
2. Cross the ankle of the pain-free side over the other thigh and place your hands under the thigh your ankle is crossed over.
3. Pull your knee towards your chest.
4. You can rock your body and play with what feels comfortable in terms of feeling a good stretch. 

The final exercise you can do is side lying leg lifts. This exercise strengthens the hip abductors.

1. Lie on your side with your legs on top of each other.
2. Lift the top leg off of your bottom as high as you can without changing the distance between your top hip and your top rib.
3. Slowly bring it back down until it reaches your bottom leg.
4. Lift the top leg again and repeat it 10-15 times.
5. Do this on both sides to give the hip stability, and to give the piriformis some help so that it doesn’t have to work so hard.

Summary: 

Bottom line? Movement is the best pain reliever. Is your sciatic nerve pain going to be eliminated after doing these exercises a few times? Probably not. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. You are armed with more information about why you could be experiencing this pain, and what you can do to make it better, or even what you can do to prevent it from getting worse. It’s not going to take a lot of time out of your day and trust us, you will be so happy you’re finally taking care of the problem instead of just suffering through it. You do not have to suffer through it!

Take Free Classes:

So now that you know a few exercises that might help with sciatic pain, the next question is- where do I find them? 

You are already here at Fitstreams.club and, there are a number of (free!) 20-minute classes you can take that will include these specific exercises.  

For example, the Safe Moves class called Healthy Hips is a wonderful addition to your day.  Not only does it include the clam and the side-lying leg lift, it helps mobilize and give control to the entire hip complex.