{"id":198,"date":"2021-03-16T17:22:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciaticapatients.com\/?p=198"},"modified":"2021-10-27T15:08:07","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T15:08:07","slug":"sciatica-exercises-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciaticapatients.com\/sciatica-exercises-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Sciatica Exercises To Avoid – The ULTIMATE List"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Sciatica<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Exercises are generally helpful for a healthy body and in the control of sciatica pains. They are meant to relax your nerves and relieve stress in your body. However, to benefit from exercise in controlling sciatica, you must carry out the right exercises using the right method. This\u2019s because there are some sciatica exercises to avoid due to their negative effects on sciatica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sciatica is the pain and numbness that runs from the lower back down to the legs. Different people experience sciatica in different ways. To some people, it could be sharp jolts of pain, while to others, it could be a stabbing or burning pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in this article, we\u2019ll be discussing some of the exercises to avoid if you\u2019re suffering from sciatic pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Sciatica Exercises?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sciatica exercises are exercises that are meant to resolve sciatica pains. Such exercises are supposed to be controlled and progressive in nature. Sciatica occurs when there\u2019s pressure on the sciatic nerve leading to pain and inflammation or shock in the lower back and legs. The pressure results from spinal stenosis or herniated spinal disk. This brings disruption in the spinal column making it challenging to bend and stay flexible due to pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It moves from the lumbar spinal region down to the feet. Recently sciatica has become one of the common pain conditions with many people in the population. It\u2019s more prominent in people between 40 to 60 years.  The great influencers of sciatica include smoking, obesity, and a sedentary or inactive lifestyle. If your work involves lifting heavy objects always, you\u2019re likely to have sciatica pains with time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although exercises have a positive impact on our lifestyle, you need to do the right ones. You must know some sciatica exercises to avoid if you’re experiencing pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 Sciatica Exercises To Avoid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Exercises can be a better option in managing your sciatica pains than ordinary bed rest. However, there are still sciatica exercises to avoid.  This is because you may be aggravating the sciatic nerves instead of managing them with such exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve compiled some of the exercises to avoid in managing your sciatica condition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Hamstring sitting stretch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is one exercise that a lot of people misuse in sciatica pain management. Most persons receive information that a sitting hamstring stretch will bring relief to sciatica pain. You might be given this erroneous information by a physiotherapist or even a personal trainer. The truth is that you are making the sciatic pain condition worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hamstring<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hamstrings are the muscles at the back of the legs<\/a>. The hamstrings become stiff when you sit for a long period, especially if you\u2019re an office worker. You may also experience such stiffness if you\u2019re an athlete. In those cases, stretching of the hamstrings will help to relax the muscle and remove the stiffness. However, this is not advisable for sciatica conditions. This is because it\u2019s the sciatic nerves that cause the pain rather than the hamstrings. Thus, hamstring stretches inflict more harm to the nerves which are under the hamstring. Exercises like the hamstring stretch put a stretch on the spinal and invariably on the sciatic nerves. Generally, nerves do not like stretches. This is because stretching increases their sensitivity which results in more pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Double leg lift<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you engage in double leg lift, you will put pressure on your lower back, abdominal muscles, and your legs. This pressure increases sciatic pain due to the overstretching of the muscles in those areas. Also, check if you have feeble abs before engaging in doubled leg lift. To know it, check if your pelvis moves when you lift your legs. If it does, then you have feeble abs. This is why you can’t do the double leg lift because your lower back takes the weight of your legs in the exercise. This will invariably increase your chance of disc herniation. Thus, you can worsen your sciatica condition or may even inflict injuries on yourself using the double leg lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Double<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Bent-Over Row<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is an exercise that works for the entire body and perfectly well for your arms and back. Though this exercise is beneficial to the body, it can also increase your sciatic pain if you use the wrong approach. With the moves involved in the bent-over row, you may have a herniated disc and compression on your sciatic nerves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bent-Over<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Full-Body squat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have sciatica, you should completely avoid this exercise. This is because a full-body squat exerts pressure on the lower back, disrupting the sciatic nerve and causes spinal injury. The exercise also puts a strain on the legs and thighs, increasing your sciatic pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Full-Body<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Leg circles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This exercise demands that you swing your legs in a circle<\/a>. As you do so, you\u2019re stretching your hamstrings and invariably stimulating the sciatic nerve. This causes an aggravating effect on the nerves, thereby increasing sciatica. So, you should consciously avoid some yoga poses and Pilates<\/a> moves that expose you to leg circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leg
Source: https:\/\/blog.healthadvocate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Leg-Circles.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Abdominal stretches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Abdominal stretch is one of the sciatica exercises to avoid if you want relief from sciatic pains. This exercise puts a strain on both your lower back and the spinal column. The strain has wear and tear effect on the spinal disc and may even result in spinal injury. So, you should definitely avoid abdominal stretches to decrease your sciatica pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Abdominal<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7. Weightlifting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This exercise puts your body in a squat like position. It also needs the right support for your lower back. Weightlifting exerts pressure on your spinal column. Where you already have herniated disc, weightlifting will cause more damage to the nerves. This means that you stand a higher risk of sciatica and spinal injury using this exercise. So you should totally avoid it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Weightlifting\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

8. Rotating stretches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This exercise is good for people with healthy backs. Where you have symptoms of sciatica, you should definitely avoid it. You cause your pelvic area to move towards your lower back when you do these exercises. Rotating stretches displaces the herniated disc in your spinal system, thereby aggravating the sciatic nerves. This will increase your sciatica symptoms to the worst level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rotating<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. Touch the toes bends<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re having sciatic pains, it\u2019s very wrong to engage in this exercise. This is because where there is back pain, your stretching should be backward and not forward. “Touch the toes bends” makes you stretch forward and put more pressure on your spinal column. This will increase the displacement of your herniated disc and cause more pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Touch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Use Of Exercise For Sciatica Relief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For an exercise to give sciatica relief, it should produce the following effects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n