How to Begin a Simple and Easy Program of Exercise for Back Pain and Sciatica Relief

We will discuss the piriformis muscle stretching exercise, the psoas major muscle stretching exercise, and the hamstring (also known as the leg biceps) muscle stretching exercise.

In order to live a comfortable life in retirement, millions of Americans sacrifice now by putting money into their 401K and other retirement plans. One question to consider is: What good is it to have this nest egg when my hips and back hurt so badly that I can’t enjoy it? Like a financial plan, ensuring a future without low back pain and activity restrictions requires regular and consistent diligence. This article outlines an exercise program that is simple and easily done at home—without requiring exercise equipment or access to a gym or fitness facility.

Exercise program to stretch the back and legs

The following are some stretches that aid in pain relief by helping take stress off the low back and hips and may greatly reduce the advancement of arthritis in the spine. These exercises should be performed in a pain free manner. If pain is experienced, it is best to discontinue the exercises and consider being evaluated by a licensed physical therapist that specializes in treatment of the spine. If one already has low back pain or other health condition, it is advisable to first be evaluated by a physician and, as appropriate, receive guidance on how to do the following exercises by a spine specialist.

1) Piriformis muscle stretching exercise

The piriformis muscle runs from the back of the femur (thigh bone) to the sacrum (base of the spine). Tightness in this muscle has been linked to sacroiliac joint dysfunction and even sciatica-type pain along the sciatic nerve. To stretch the piriformis, lie on your back and cross the involved leg over the other. With both knees bent, place both hands together under the knee of the other leg (the lower leg), and gently pull the bottom leg toward your chest and hold both thighs closely until a stretch is felt in the buttock area.

Hold 30 seconds

Repeat

1-2 times per day

2) Psoas Major muscle stretching exercise

The Psoas Major muscle attaches to the front portion of the lower spine (from thoracic vertebra 12 through lumbar vertebra 5) and can greatly limit low back mobility when tight. It often is one of the sources of low back pain in patients who have difficulty standing for extended periods or kneeling on both knees. This muscle can be stretched in a half kneeling position (kneeling on one knee). Rotate the leg outward and tighten the gluteal muscles on the side you’re stretching. Next, lean forward through the hip joint rather then bending through the lumbar spine. A stretch should be felt in the front of the hip that the patient is kneeling on.

Hold 30 seconds

Repeat

1-2 times per day

3) Hamstring muscle stretching exercise

The hamstrings run from the back of the ishial tuberosity (pelvic bone) to just below the back of the knee. They are responsible for bending the knee and assisting the gluteal muscles to extend the hip. These muscles are very important to stretch because, when tight, they make it nearly impossible to sit up straight. People who do not sit with an erect posture run the risk of early onset of degenerative disc disease and neck pain. Tight hamstring muscles are also associated with low back pain. One way to gently stretch hamstring muscles is to lie on the back and grasp the leg behind the knee with the hip flexed to 90 degrees and the knee bent. Attempt to straighten the knee with the toes pointed back toward you.

Hold 30 seconds

Repeat

1-2 times per day

This is meant to be a stop-gap measure, something to get you going until you can initiate a complete, individualized program…such as those below!

1) http://www.TheBackPainGuy.info

2) http://www.HowToStopSciatica.com

3) http://www.HowToStopSciatica.info

Good luck and let me know what you think! Any products on the side panel are super for back problems!

1) Get an ice-compression brace for the times when nothing else works for the pain…it will! I know!get

2) New Balance running shoes, they have awesome heel cushioning that makes such a difference when pain makes you count your steps all day long, just to make it through the day!

3) WalkFit Orthotics for the days when you can’t wear your New Balance but need cushioning and support.

4) Bone & Joint Natural Pain Reliever! It really helped me when nothing else would!

5) And others…..

All of which, with the exception of the scooters, I was in a wheelchair for a while but not any more, work!

See also:

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Zajaros

There are several programs on the market for back pain and sciatica, these three work and have strong guarantees to back them up!

Having had 14 back surgeries, I am no stranger to pain, back pain and sciatica in every degree you can think of. I am also a scientist, specializing in the spine and sacroiliac joint (hips/pelvis), so I know anatomy and physiology inside and out, no pun intended.

So, if I tell you a program back pain and sciatica will do the job, I not only know what I am talking about scientifically, if not medically, but I can also empathize, and sympathize, with you as a fellow back pain and sciatica sufferer. The three programs listed below, in now particular order, are all excellent programs for dealling effectively with your bad back. They also are quite good with neck pain! Take a look at all three, give one a chance and stick with it long enough for it to take hold. And then?

Life your life! Because you will be pain free!

The following programs are excellent for neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain or sciatica; and, they are all guaranteed!

John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Zajaros

Back pain and sciatica are treatable! Back pain and sciatica sufferers are not doomed to the surgeon’s blade. A bad back can be dealt with effectively, without surgical intervention, if proper bad back strategies are implemented early and followed consistently.

Have you ever gotten out of bed and felt that nagging feeling in your back, a kind of stiffness that doesn’t seem to want to go away with normal movement? Have you ever started to bend over and felt that twinge in the lower back, perhaps radiating down the leg? Have you ever bent over to pick up a child, a pet, even a package and felt a blast of pain? Has your back pain and sciatica ever gotten so bad you had to stop what you were doing and rest?

If you have answered yes to any of the questions above, you are in good company. Unfortunately, back pain and sciatica are a pain complex suffered my literally millions of Americans every year. In fact, almost half a million people are operated on every year for what most people refer to as a bad back. Severe and chronic pain may be caused by many things but is often the result of the stress, strain, and trauma we impose on our muscles, connective tissue (tendons and ligaments), discs, and even the vertebrae themselves. While it is true that many back injuries are the result of significant trauma and disease, the majority of back pain and sciatica results from normal, day-to-day activities. The activities resulting in back strain and injury may be as mundane as working around the garden, sweeping the driveway or raking leaves, shoveling snow (always a good one), lifting laundry or grocery bags, household chores, and picking up children or grandchildren.

Often, simple adjustments to movement and behavior, properly and consistently implemented, go a long way towards preventing or at least minimizing back strain and its consequences. A few bad back strategies in particular are quite effective in minimizing the consequences of back stress and strain: first and foremost, be aware of body position while engaged in activities that may impact the back, particularly the lower back; next, maintain good posture through exercise, conscious thought, and eventually, habit; third, make sure to stretch often, usually as part of a total exercise program; along with the third bad back strategy, integrate a consistent, individualized, and professionally supervised exercise program into your life; next, make sure to always know your limits; and, always listen to that still, small voice in your head, if it says you’re pushing it, you probably are; finally, lose weight. Significantly, added weight may have more of a negative impact on back health that any single factor. If you are carrying extra weight, you are placing incredible stress and strain on you back. The combination or all of these strategies, tied to an intelligent weight loss and exercise program, will do wonders, often alleviating, then eliminating, back pain and sciatica

Ultimately, a medical consultation may be the wisest strategy, particularly if your back pain and sciatica continue for more than a few days. Do not wait for it to worsen! If you have engaged in an exercise program and are losing weight, you should begin to experience relief quickly. You will be amazed at how soon after beginning an intelligent, focused, and individualized exercise program you start feeling real relief. If you do not, see your physician and he or she will recommend a good orthopedic surgeon or neurologist. Don’t wait until you are disabled to get help, it is not necessary and the damage may be irreversible without surgery.

Bad back strategies are easy to implement and, from personal experience, are easily made habits, allowing you to significantly minimize, and ultimate eliminate, your pain. After years of pain and surgeries, weight loss and exercise, along with the other strategies mentioned above, allowed me to re-enter life as a participant and not just as a spectator, miserable, depressed, and disabled. It is not easy and it takes conscious effort but it is doable and the results are amazing! So remember, posture, positioning, lifting, exercise, and weight loss. If you follow these five bad back strategies you will alleviate, and eventually eliminate your back pain and sciatica.

The following programs are excellent for neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain or sciatica:

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.com

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.info

Or! Dr. Graeme Teague’s X-Pain Method! New and Exciting, 4 Simple Steps!

John Zajaros, The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

A Mayo Clinic study noted that, “Back pain ranks second only to headaches as the most frequent pain location. More than 65 million Americans experience low back pain every year. Four out of five adults will experience at least one bout of back pain at some time in their life.” There can be little doubt that the associated condition, sciatica, follows right behind, equally in frequency and just as debilitating.

Low back pain: Exercises to reduce pain

Fatigue, muscle strain, stress, injury and overuse are some of the principle causes of sciatica and lower back pain in adults. Continuous back pain and sciatica may be painful and, in some cases, cause temporary or even permanent disability. However, back pain and sciatica do not always signal a severe, unalterable injury or disease. In fact, in most instances, the pain, and it’s underlying condition, are very treatable. In most instances, treatment for back pain and sciatica, in the form of exercise and intelligent follow up, can return the back pain and sciatica sufferer to a healthy and active life in short order. Contrary to popular opinion, maintaining an active lifestyle, exercising often, and avoiding certain positions and situations is “just what the doctor ordered.” When it comes to avoiding and, when necessary, treating back pain and sciatica, activity, usually in the form of an intelligently designed exercise program along with an active lifestyle, will ward off and/or hasten the recovery of an individual suffering from most back injuries. Situations in which back injuries may manifest themselves, with the associated pain and disability, are much more prevalent in individuals living a more sedentary lifestyle. The active lifestyle and not “rest and relaxation” will effectively combat most situations in which injuries associated with back pain and sciatica occur. A sedentary individual will more often succumb to fatigue and stress, compared to the more active individual, and as noted above, fatigue and stress are two of the primary factors in back injury with its associated array of symptoms. Additionally, once injured, the active individual may return to normal activity much sooner than the inactive individual.

The fact is, most back pain, with its associated symptoms, including sciatica, will usually improve if the individual stays involved and active. As noted in a previous article, if the back pain and sciatica sufferer uses ice, to include the compression-ice brace when necessary, and avoids certain positions, sleeping on one’s side, with knees tucked and separated, significant relief is possible. Common sense strategies, such as avoiding activities that cause undue pain, at least until the pain has subsided, and prudent use of anti-inflammatory medications such as naproxen-sodium and ibuprofen may help when absolutely necessary. Never, and I mean never, take narcotics for back pain, it is a short-term fix and the consequences are always disastrous! Taken over a long enough period of time, narcotics will lead to eventual loss of effectiveness and even dependence…addiction. I am not a physician and can only speak from personal experience but addictive medications are a lose-lose strategy…short term and long term.

Once acute pain subsides, the back pain and sciatica sufferer should begin a supervised exercise program, one that includes stretches and other personalized exercises designed for the individual and not simply copied from the nearest copying machine at the hospital or doctor’s office! Over a period of time, the exercise program should be enhanced and the level of difficulty increased in order to develop the supporting musculature of the spine, abdominal region and core, and the legs. The proper exercise program will ensure a more rapid and complete recovery, one that reduces the chance of re-injury and offsets the possibility of extending a temporary disability into a prolonged one. An individualized exercise program will ultimately return the individual to a normal, healthy, and pain free life sooner, and with fewer consequences, than the do-nothing approach so many seem predisposed to due to incorrect information, often the result of an incomplete and improper education as it relates to back pain and sciatica.

An exercise program focusing on back pain and sciatica does not have to be complicated or difficult and, once set up by a qualified professional, can be followed in the comfort of the individual’s own home. Significantly, pain itself sets up a sort of negative feedback loop in that, pain leads to fear of pain which leads to inactivity which leads to more pain, and so on! The back pain and sciatica sufferer must make every attempt to become active as soon as possible after the onset of pain. Like the pain negative feedback loop, a negative reaction, meaning an approach to pain leading to inactivity, leading to a loss of strength, muscle tone, flexibility, and overall conditioning, leading to more pain is inevitable. The loss of muscle tome and function may lead to further stress, strain, and injury. The whole process then feeds upon itself, again. A safe and sane exercise program is indeed the only answer for an individual suffering from back pain and sciatica.

The following are excellent programs leading to a pain free life for neck pain, back pain, and sciatica sufferers:

John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., “The Bad Back Guy”
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

Back Pain and Sciatica: Three things to do to lessen the impact of back pain and sciatica when trying to sleep.

As noted previously, I’ve had 14 major back surgeries in my life. I can tell you this, until I learned a combination of of three things I am about to share with you, and used them nightly, and religiously, I still had back pain and sciatica throughout the night., every night. In fact, the pain was so bad at times, there were nights I couldn’t sleep at all. No matter what what I tried, no matter what position I was in, there were times when nothing helped to alleviate the back and sciatic nerve pain. Nothing helped until I combined the following three techniques, anyway. The three strategies are ice, exercise, and position. If you apply these three strategies, together, each and every night and not leaving anything out, even for an evening, you will begin to experience peaceful sleep as never before! The fact is, you don’t have to do a lot of any one of these three but you do have to so the proper amount of all three…all the time.

The first strategy is to ice the area affected by back pain, and the source of the sciatica (L3-5), with an ice compression brace. The brace is easy to secure and the resulting back pain and sciatica relief is almost immediate, usually within 15 minutes to a half an hour…tops! The nice thing about these back braces is that you can wear it around the house or even to bed with little or no discomfort at all. The ice compression brace keeps constant pressure on the affected area and the continuous cold helps to reduce inflammation, usually a source of back pain and sciatica. Ice compression braces range in price from $39.95 up to about $200.00. You do not need one that costs $200.00. In fact, the most expensive one I’ve seen, one just under $200.00, is big, bulky, and not the sort of thing you’d want to put on before bedtime. Stick with the cheaper ones, they work just as fast for relief of back pain and sciatica and are usually more compact, making it easier to wear to bed, if you want to do so.

The second strategy mentioned above is exercise. I am not talking about weightlifting here, I am talking about a tailor-made program of exercises and stretches, designed specifically for back pain and sciatica sufferers. The exercises, as noted previously (see other articles and posts in the series), are not the ones they hand you as they push you out the door after back surgery, they are designed and individualized specifically for you and your needs. There are several practitioners dealing in this sort of specialized, back pain and sciatica relief program. The cost for this sort of thing is reasonable, usually much less than the cost of time away from work or for cost of medication for pain. If done properly, and without the other two strategies, pain relief can be anywhere from a few days to a couple of hours. If exercise is done in concert with ice and positioning, relief may be instantaneous.

Third, and probably the most effective in the short-term, is positioning. The best way to position yourself, the only way to relax at all when the back pain is really bad, is on your side. Now, not just on your side but on your side with a pillow (a decent one not a flat thing) between your knees. Then, put one or two under your head, so the head and neck are in line with the rest of your spine, and then a pillow in front of your belly. The one in front of the stomach is to keep you from rolling over on your stomach, and also, it allows you to roll forward just enough to take the pressure off the hips from time to time. That’s either 3, 4 or 5 pillows, depending on the thickness and how much pain your in. The pillows can be simple, everyday pillows you have at home. You do not have to go out and buy pillows specially made for back pain and sciatica sufferers. The relief from this technique is immediate…try it!

The three techniques mentioned above: ice, exercise, and positioning, when used together can be a powerful combination for fighting, and beating, back pain and sciatica. The fact is, any one of these methods will give you some relief, some immediate and some down the road. The combination of factors, however, yields results that will be immediate and long lasting…no more back pain and sciatica.

Good luck!

For Great Ice Compression Braces!

Good exercise programs for sciatica and back pain:

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.com
http://www.HowToStopSciatica.info

John Zajaros, “The Bad Back Guy”
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

Swiss researchers found that exercise, done properly and under supervision, helps reduce back pain and sciatica, particularly low-back pain.

A Swiss study, conducted in December 1999, noted that an exercise program consisting of low-impact aerobics may be quite effective in reducing back pain, particularly pain affecting the lower back. The study maintained that low impact aerobics may indeed offer the back pain and sciatica sufferer a viable alternative to physical therapy and weight training alone, that adding low impact aerobics to an exercise and therapy program significantly reduced pain levels in less than three months or less. The study, published in the journal Spine, noted that low impact exercise, like aerobics, can reduce or eliminate chronic low-back pain as effectively as an exercise program of exercise machines, weight lifting, and physical therapy, alone. According to the research findings, the most impressive data suggested that a combination of the three modalities, or treatments, administered in concert, proved to be equally effective in significantly reducing or even eliminating not only pain frequency, but its intensity and the disabling effects leading to an inability to perform even the most rudimentary tasks associated with daily living.

The research was conducted by Anne F. Mannion, Ph.D., Müntener M, Taimela S, and Dvorak J. from the University of Zurich-Irchel and the Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland. The researchers enrolled 132 chronic back pain sufferers, dividing them in to three groups: one group was assigned to a sub-grouping of two or three patients, their treatment modality was lifting weights for an hour; the second group was assigned traditional physical therapy, one-half hour in duration; and, the third group of subjects was enrolled in a low impact aerobics program, an hour in length. All three groups met for a period of three months, twice a week. The pain level of each patient was scaled at the beginning of treatment and then assessed again after three months.

After the test period, Dr. Mannion and her fellow researchers discovered a quantitative and qualitative difference in the pain experienced by all three treatment groups. In other words, the patients not only had less pain overall but they had an improved standard of living, as related to the ability to involve themselves in the day-to-day functions of life. Interestingly, it was discovered that no significant difference between the different treatment modalities existed, all three groups achieved virtually the same level of pain relief. The back pain sufferers participating in the study noted not only a lessening of overall pain but they also observed that there were now periods when pain was not evident at all, periods when they were pain free. Ultimately, it must be recognized that the back pain patients experienced pain less often, and to a lessor degree, then before the study commenced.

Dr. Charles Edwards, a physician and professor of surgery at Baltimore’s, University of Maryland School of Medicine, noted that both in his personal life and his professional dealings with patients, he had found the use of exercise to be a significant factor in reducing and/or relieving lower back pain. Edwards went on to maintain that because the researchers had shown comparable findings among and between these very different modalities, that the research would make a significant contribution to the literature supporting the use of exercise as a means of treating low back pain and sciatica.

Edwards went on to conclude that it may be said that exercise counters the effects or, as he put it, the vicious cycle, of sedentary life associated with a decrease in activity. The decreased activity associated with back pain and sciatica leads to weakness, stiffness, and even atrophy (shrinking and/or loss of muscle tissue when not used) in chronic back pain and sciatica sufferers. The loss of muscle tone and tissue is followed by a decrease in the production of endorphins (naturally produced opiates or pain killers in the body), this leads to increased pain sensitivity. The decrease in endorphins and the increased pain sensitivity of chronic back pain and sciatica sufferers, is almost certainly a factor in prescription pain medication abuse, as chronic back pain sufferers attempt to alleviate their suffering. Edwards concludes by noting that this is a very real physical pattern that develops, and exercise helps to restore and preserve normal physiology or bodily functions, in chronic pain sufferers. I would argue that it is also, and equally, a psychological pattern, one that contributes to the well-being of the back pain and sciatica sufferer when he or she is actively engaged in an exercise program.

In conclusion, the following findings are informative: one, in working with and treating patients displaying symptoms of chronic lower back pain and sciatica, low impact aerobics is just as effective a treatment modality as exercising with machines, lifting weights or even physical therapy; second, after 3 consecutive months in one of the three test groups, back pain sufferers using one of the three treatment strategies reported a significant overall reduction in low back pain and sciatica; and finally, the researchers involved in the study, and others interviewed, all suggest that exercise breaks the vicious cycle of a sedentary lifestyle, decreased activity, that leads to stiff muscles, weakness, atrophy and an increased sensitivity to back pain and sciatica.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10626305; Spine. 1999 Dec 1;24(23):2435-48;

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.com

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.info

http://www.ultimatebadback strategies.com

http://www.badbackandsciatica.blogspot.com

John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6256
Skype: johnzajaris
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

National Institutes of Health: New Study of Chronic Back, Neck, Sciatic Nerve Pain Suffers Show A Need For New Rehabilitation Approach

New research, sponsored and funded by the NIH, National Institutes of Health, found that the use of alternative treatments, such as exercise, for chronic neck, back, and sciatica pain suffers may be more effective and less utilized than could and should be. This was discovered during a study of individuals surveyed after seeing their primary care providers and back pain, sciatica pain and neck pain practitioners. The researchers noted it has been discovered that exercise is one of the few significantly effective therapies underutilized for the disabling conditions of chronic back pain, neck pain and sciatic nerve pain.

Note:

It must be noted here that I am not a physician and this is not intended to be or usurp the advice of your licensed medical practitioner. My doctoral fellowship was in physical anthropology, my specialty in age-progressive phenomena affecting the spine and sacroiliac joint. So, I am an expert when it comes to the morphology (structure) and physiology, as it relates to the back and pelvis (hips) and what goes on as you age, but I am not a medical doctor.

Furthermore: Perhaps more significantly, and as noted previously, I have had over the course of my rather short life (ha!), 14 surgeries on my spine! I think this may give me a perspective not enjoyed, if enjoyed is the proper word, by many of my medical, chiropractic, osteological, and physical anthropological (no, not like CSIs) colleagues.

Credits: The research was published in the February 2009 Arthritis Care & Research and was conducted by Timothy S. Carey and Janet K. Freburger, in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. As part of the study, they surveyed by telephone six hundred and eighty-four (684) chronic neck and/or back pain sufferers, many with sciatic nerve pain or sciatica, who saw a physical therapist, chiropractor, or physician at some point in the last twelve (12) months. Of the chronic back and neck pain, and sciatica, sufferers surveyed only a shade less than half (48%) were advised to perform any sort of exercise program.

It may be suggestive that only half were of those contacted were encouraged to engage in any sort of exercise program, regardless of how rudimentary, and that medical practitioners may need to look at alternative strategies for their patients suffering the debilitating effects of long-term, chronic back pain, neck pain, and sciatica.

For alternative pain strategies two programs I support are:

John Zajaros, “The Bad Back Guy”
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com