What is Sciatica?

When the sciatic nerve, which connects your lower back to your legs, is pinched, it results in sciatic pain. Your legs may experience pain, numbness, or a tingling sensation due to the impingement.

To Find Out If You Might Have Sciatica, Complete This Short Questionnaire:

• Do you have a sharp pain that travels down one leg from your lower back?
• Does your foot or leg feel weak, numb, or tingly?
• Does prolonged standing or sitting make your pain worse?
• Have you noticed relief when you stretch your lower back?

Consider speaking with your healthcare provider if you said “yes” to most of these questions. They can verify the diagnosis through a series of tests and physical examinations.

While sciatica can be uncomfortable, in most cases, you can manage it effectively with postural corrections and appropriate physical activities.

Common Causes of Sciatica

The compression of your sciatic nerve may result from various factors, including spinal injuries, age-related degeneration (where the jelly-like cushioning between your vertebrae wears down), spinal misalignment, narrowing of the spinal canal, or a bulging disc pushing out from its protective outer layer.

Risk factors for sciatica include trauma to your spine, a sedentary lifestyle, weight gain, diabetes and pregnancy.

Yoga offers gentle methods to reduce strain on your sciatic nerve and strengthen your bones, helping to resist wear and tear.

Did You Know?

Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body. It starts in your lower back and extends from your gluteus muscle (buttocks) to the back of your calf.

The sciatic nerve plays a crucial role in your motor functions (leg movement) as well as sensory functions (feeling sensations in your legs).

Have you noticed that animals instinctively stretch after resting? This highlights nature’s wisdom in relieving body strain. Yoga incorporates these movements in practice, thus enabling us to achieve a healthy, pain-free body.

How Can Yoga Help Reduce Sciatic Pain?

Yoga can assist with sciatica pain by stretching and strengthening your spine, muscles, and nerves. Some advantages of practising Yoga are;  

1. Improved Muscle Strength:  

Yoga improves the strength of the muscles that support the spine, helps protect it, and manages back pain.  

2. Improved Posture:  

Correct posture decreases the tension on the sciatic nerve and the lower back region, thereby preventing sciatica and its flare-ups.  

3. Reduced Muscle Tension:  

While suffering from sciatica, there is soreness in the back, thigh, and hip regions. Yoga poses assist in loosening these regions.  

Fun Facts

• In Ayurveda, sciatica is termed Grdhrasi, as the stride of the affected person is similar to that of the limping stride of a vulture (Grdhra).
• Many corporations, including Apple, Google, and Sony, have incorporated Yoga into their routines (Corporate Yoga) to promote the physical and mental well-being of their employees.

7 Best Yoga Poses For Sciatica Pain Relief

Yoga movements are gentle in nature. Minor modifications based on physical needs can be practised by all, regardless of age and pain status. Here are the 7 best Yoga poses to relieve your sciatic pain.

1. Adho Mukha Svanasana

This Pose resembles a dog stretching after sitting for a long time. This Pose stretches your back and legs, thus helping to relieve tension and pain.

How To Practise:

• Start on your fours so that your body resembles a table. Your back forms the tabletop, while your hands and legs form the table’s four legs.
• Now, lift your hips towards the ceiling.
• Straighten your knees and elbows, forming an inverted V shape with your body. You should feel a stretch on your back and legs.
• Press your heels toward the floor and hold the position for 5-10 breaths before slowly returning to the starting position.  

Modifications:

If you cannot fully stretch your body due to pain, start by slightly bending your knees to relieve excess pressure on your hamstrings and slowly build the practice of straightening your knees over time.  

Benefits For Sciatica: 

This Pose stretches the hamstrings, calves, and lower back, relieving sciatic pain.

Caution: This Pose should be avoided by pregnant women and those with wrist injuries.

2. Balasana

The child’s Pose softly stretches your spine, reducing the tension in it.

How To Practise:

• Begin in the kneeling position with your knees hip-width apart and big toes placed together.
• Thereafter, slowly move back and sit on your heels.
• Stretch your arms, lean on the mat, and let your forehead touch the ground.
• Maintain this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing deeply.

Modification:

• If you have knee pain, put a support pillow under your knees to minimize the strain on your knees.

Benefits For Sciatica: 

• The Pose stretches the lower back gently and relaxes your body.

Caution: Do not perform the Pose if you are pregnant or have a hip injury.

3. Marjaryasana/ Bitilasana:

This flowing movement set assists in loosening your spine, releasing tension in your back and neck muscles, and enhancing your overall flexibility.

How To Practise:

• Begin in a tabletop position with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
• Inhale as you arch your back (Cow Pose) and exhale as you round your back (Cat Pose).
• Repeat the movement 10-12 times.

Benefits For Sciatica:

• Increases spinal suppleness and relaxes tension in the hips and back, which helps ease sciatic pain.

Note: It can be practised by pregnant women as well.

4. Paschimottanasana:

Your back and legs will be stretched lightly in this Pose.

How To Practise:

• Place your legs forward in front of you while you sit on the floor.
• Stretch your spine upwards with an inhalation, fold forward with the knees straight on an exhalation, take your hands down to your feet, and hold on to them.
• Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds and take deep breaths.

Tip: If you can’t reach your feet, touch your hands to your legs. The idea is to give a gentle stretch to your body.

Benefits For Sciatica:

• This Pose stretches the leg and lower back muscles, which helps relieve tightness and pain in your lower back and hamstrings.

5. Setu Bandhasana:

Setu Bandhasana pose strengthens back and core muscles.

How To Practise:

• Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
• Press your feet into the floor as you press your hips upwards towards the ceiling, using your glutes and lower back muscles.
• Hold for 5-10 breaths before lowering your hips back to the floor.

Benefits For Sciatica:

• Stretches and strengthens the lower back, glutes, and core muscles, supporting the spine.

6. Supta Matsyendrasana:

Supta Matsyendrasana is a twisting pose that gently stretches your spine.

How To Practise:

• Start by lying down flat with your arms outstretched to your sides.
• Keep your left leg straight. Bend your right knee and drop it to the left side so that it crosses over your left leg.
• Place your right hand over your right knee and maintain the outstretched position of your left arm.
• Look to your right side and maintain the Pose for five breaths.
• Relax, return to the normal position, and repeat the same on the opposite side.
• Perform this Pose ten times.

Benefits For Sciatica:

• As the Pose gives a gentle stretch to your back, it reduces the pressure on your sciatic nerves.

7. Virabhadrasana

This gentle Pose helps to improve your posture and strengthen your body muscles.

How To Practise:

• Begin the Pose by standing with your feet far apart.
• Maintaining a straight left leg, turn your right foot outward and bend your right knee to create a 90-degree angle.
• Look over your right hand while extending your arms parallel to the floor.
• After five to ten breaths, hold the Pose, then switch sides.

Benefits For Sciatica:

• Virabhadrasana tones your legs and back and is a strengthening pose.
• This Pose relieves the strain on your sciatic nerve by improving your posture.

Additional Tips

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind while practising Yoga to enhance its effectiveness.

Deep Breathing To Reduce Strain:

• Practise deep breathing with Yoga poses. Deep breathing relaxes the body and thus reduces tension in your muscles and back. This eases the tightness of the muscles that cover your sciatic nerve.

Warm-up Before Yoga Poses:

• It is essential to perform a mild warm-up before starting yoga poses.

Steer Clear Of Twisting Movements:

• While twisting movements generally decrease sciatic pain, they may worsen the pain in certain individuals. Always listen to your body; if twisting movements cause you pain, avoid them and do stretching movements instead.

Listen To Your Body:

• Never go through pain. Adjust poses according to your needs and discontinue if you experience discomfort or strain.

7-Minute Short Routine For Sciatica Pain Relief

Here’s an easy 7-minute routine that you can practise daily.

• Warm-up of the whole body within 2 minutes.
• Adho Mukha Svanasana for 1 minute.
• Balasana for 1 minute.
• Paschimotthanasana for 1 minute.
• Marjaryasana for 1 minute.
• Rest for 1 minute.

Repeat the routine twice daily.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a gentle, natural way to tackle your sciatica pain, Yoga might be the perfect solution. Regularly practising these poses will stretch and strengthen your lower back, hips, and legs, thus taking the pressure off your sciatic nerve. To ensure effectiveness, make these poses a part of your daily routine so that the more you do them, the easier it is to manage sciatica pain and have good spinal health over time.