10 Exercises To Avoid If You Have Sciatica

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When you have sciatica, you need to find sciatica relief exercises to move your body, help relieve pain. Besides, it is also necessary to know about exercises that have a bad effect on the condition of the disease. Here are 10 exercises you should avoid if you have sciatica.

1. What is sciatica?

Sciatica or pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve (also known as the sciatic nerve). The sciatic nerve is made up of nerve roots in the sacrum and coccyx, runs through the hips, buttocks, and ends in the lower legs. The main cause of sciatica is herniated disc. Compression, triggers that lead to inflammation, or irritation to the sciatic nerve can all cause this pain.
Sciatica has symptoms such as sharp pain, burning pain, leg weakness, numbness or stinging sensation. Symptoms usually occur on one side of the body. During an exacerbation of sciatica, the patient often has difficulty in movement due to the pain, but be careful not to completely immobilize the leg. Patients should limit activities, movements or positions that cause pain and avoid exercises, sports, or activities that put great pressure on the path of the sciatic nerve. When suffering from sciatica, patients need to find exercises to reduce sciatica to move the body and help relieve pain. Besides, it is also necessary to know about exercises that have a bad effect on the condition of the disease. Here are some exercises that people with sciatica must avoid, even people with back pain should not do these exercises.
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2. Sciatica exercises to avoid?

2.1. Seated and standing forward bend exercise

This exercise requires people to perform in a sitting or standing position, back straight, legs straight, then bend slowly until touching the knees. The posture of this move stretches and squeezes the lower back, hips, and hamstrings, exacerbating sciatica.

2.2. Hurdler stretch sitting exercise

This exercise is performed in a seated position on the floor, extending one leg straight out in front of you, while the other leg bends the knee to bring the sole of the foot into the upper thigh area of ​​the extended leg, lowering the torso towards the shin of the leg. leggy. Extend your arms toward your legs, keeping your back straight and your head in line with your spine. This exercise stretches the back, hips, and hamstrings. However, doing a forward bend aggravates sciatica.

2.3. Supine leg circles exercise

This is a muscle tightening exercise (Pilates) that helps stretch the thigh muscle group after rotating the leg in a circle. This movement requires the performer to lie on his back, placing his hands under his buttocks. Lift your feet off the floor, above your hips, and bring your chin toward your chest. Move each leg up and down in a C shape (the path of the 2 legs forms a circle). Exercises for sciatica can stimulate the sciatic nerve, and the risk of injury to the hamstring muscle group behind.

2.4. Double leg lift exercise

With this exercise, the performer will lie on his back, raise and lower his legs at the same time to stimulate the abdominal and leg muscles. However, for people with sciatica, this movement can make symptoms worse, especially when performing the movement with incorrect posture.

2.5. Revolved triangle pose exercise

People who perform the twisted triangle pose will combine bending and twisting, needing balance and stability in the pose. Sciatica exercises cause excessive stretching of the spine, hips, and hamstrings, exacerbating the symptoms of sciatica.

2.6. Exercises that combine push-ups and jumps (Burpees)

The person performing this exercise will do push-ups and jumps alternately. This is a high-intensity exercise that helps the average person burn fat effectively. However, the repetitive process of forward bending and jumping will aggravate sciatica symptoms, increasing back and hip pain.
SEE ALSO: Can back pain and sciatica practice cycling?

2.7. Bent over row exercise

This is an exercise that uses weights, helping to strengthen the middle back in healthy people. This exercise requires the performer to bend, bend the knees, keep the back straight, use the back muscles to pull the barbell back. The movements will over-stretch the lower back muscles, stimulating the sciatic nerve. People with sciatica should not perform this exercise as it can cause inflammation, injury, herniated disc.

2.8. Stand up exercise - sit down using weights (weighted squat)

Exercises standing up and sitting down continuously combined with weights (or squats using weights) move many different muscle groups such as back, thighs, buttocks, hips. Incorporating more weights will increase training efficiency in healthy people. However, people with sciatica should avoid this exercise because it puts a lot of pressure on the lower back, sciatic nerve, and the cartilage discs between the vertebrae. These movements also force the foot to bear a large amount of weight, causing pain and injury.

2.9. Cycling (Cycling)

Cycling is an exercise for sciatica because it increases pressure on the spine and sciatic nerve. Cycling in a stooped or forward hunched position can irritate the sciatic nerve, especially when using bicycles with the saddle and handlebars too far apart or the handlebars too low. with the chair, aggravating the symptoms.

2.10. High-impact sports

Commonly active sports are basketball, soccer, tennis, football, jogging and high-intensity interval training. When playing the above-mentioned sports and gymnastics, it is inevitable that sudden movements, or collisions, or create great pressure on the body. People with sciatica should avoid participating in these activities to limit the excessive impact on the back, hips, thighs, legs and sciatic nerve, aggravating the symptoms of the disease.
Sciatica is a fairly common disease, most often in middle-aged people or people who work hard. Sciatica has a great impact on patients' ability to function and perform daily activities. Sciatica patients need to stay away from exercise and sports that can worsen the symptoms of the above disease. Exercises to reduce sciatica patients should do is walking or swimming gently to help reduce pain symptoms and promote health. Along with that, the patient needs to adjust to a healthy diet, stay away from stress and get enough sleep.
In addition, patients can seek the support of acupuncture, massage or chiropractic methods. Topical or topical pain relievers, a lumbar brace, and hot and cold therapy can all help. However, when suffering from sciatica, it is necessary to consult a doctor for treatment advice as well as instructions on exercises to help improve pain, increase strength and increase body mobility.

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Reference source: healthline.com