Sciatica describes weakness, numbness, or leg pain that begins in the lower back and travels down the sciatic nerve in the leg. Many people use yoga stretches for sciatic nerve pain relief. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the human body; it starts in the lower back and travels down the buttock and the lower limb.
In 2005, the Journal of Neurosurgery reported that more than 5 percent of adults in the US have sciatica and that a person has a 40 percent chance of experiencing it during their lifetime. Fortunately, yoga practice may help to ease sciatic nerve pain.
What causes sciatica is irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve.
Other Causes of Sciatic Nerve Pain
- Degenerative disc disease.
- Spinal disc herniation.
- Narrowing of the spinal column.
- Nerve entrapment (a muscle in the buttock presses on the sciatic nerve).
Common Signs of Sciatica
These are the signs commonly associated with sciatica. Only a medical professional can give a diagnosis.
- Discomfort and pain along the pathway of the sciatic nerve: in the buttock, lower back, back of the calf, and thigh.
- Weakness: a lack of strength that causes the knees to buckle while standing up, or makes it difficult to rise from a sitting position.
- Numbness: loss of feeling. It can be checked with a toothpick or the edge of a matchbook, by comparing the skin areas on one leg with the same areas on the other leg.
- Reduced reflexes in the knee and Achilles tendon.
- Paresthesia: an unusual feeling, such as tingling, pins and needles, pinching, and burning.
- Foot drop: a condition in which the ankles cannot be flexed enough to walk on the heels.
Less expected places to feel sciatica pain are the heel, the back of the leg, the back of the thigh, the side of the foot, and the outside of the calf.
So, sciatica is not the cause but a symptom, and most of the time you need to visit a medical professional to find out what is behind it.
Yoga and Sciatica
We have other articles about sciatic nerve pain, such as Short Video Exercises for Sciatic Nerve Pain and Top 10 Natural Ways to Ease Sciatic Pain, but in this article we will introduce you to yoga exercises for stretching the area around the sciatic nerve.
You can do these exercises at home. If you are a novice, follow the video in this article – yoga for complete beginners.
Even though yoga may help with sciatica and pain in the lower back, it can also cause back pain if done incorrectly, so be careful.
If a medical professional says that the cause of the pain is muscle tightness or spasms, then these exercises may help.
When stretching, be sure you do the stretches on both sides.
Nowadays, yoga is practiced by about 20,000,000 people in America, and it is used to stretch, strengthen, and improve the overall balance of the muscles.
And the good thing is that yoga can be done in your own home.
Attention: If you suffer from severe sciatica, consult your doctor before starting yoga.
Follow this video of yoga for sciatica:
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always talk to your doctor about any health concern.