Stretches and Exercises to Do at Home in Between Chiropractic Adjustments

The 4 Best Exercises to Do at Home for Sciatica Pain Relief

In this video, we show you a powerful piriformis stretch

It’s important to start with each knee close to 90 degrees.  Place one hand outside of the knee in front, and place your other hand on your calf/ankle.  Then lean forward towards the knee.  Once you’ve spent 10-20 seconds in this position, bend forward towards the middle of your leg.  Finally, bend forward towards your foot.

Once you’ve completed each step, progress to reaching forward with the hand that was previously placed on your calf/ankle.  Then repeat the steps by leaning towards your knee, middle of the leg, and foot.

Finally, lift both arms up to shoulder level and out hold them out to the sides.  From there bend all three directions.  Once complete, stretch the piriformis on the other side.

This exercise targets the sciatic nerve

While lying face-first on the floor or bed, place your elbows under yourself and lift your upper body off the ground.  Make sure to keep contact with your hips and the floor or bed.  Then progress to your hands.  Place your hands under your body and push your spine off the ground.  Repeat this 10-20 times.

Flossing the sciatic nerve

While seated, begin with the painful leg slightly pulled behind you.  Tuck your toes toward the ceiling.  Also, tuck your chin to your chest.  From this position, lift your leg up in front of you while also bending your head back towards the ceiling.  Repeat 10-20 times. Go slow.

Piriformis release

Get a hard ball, preferably a lacrosse ball or baseball and sit on it.  Place it towards the outside of your rear.  Search for tight and tender spots in the muscle.  Then roll up and down on these points.  You are doing a great job when you notice your sensitivity levels going down.

If you’d like to advance to a greater intensity, simply cross the involved leg over the other (figure 4 style) and continue rolling.  Don’t forget to repeat on the other side.  This could take anywhere from 1-5 minutes on each side.

Each one of these exercises are important for reducing pain and irritation around the sciatic nerve.  It’s important to understand the limitations of these exercises.  While they can bring some much needed relief.

They are hardly a correction or fix for the sciatica.  Instead, I encourage you to use these exercises as buffers to allow you to feel better until you correct the underlying reason for your pain.

So, what avenue should you proceed down if you want to correct the underlying problem?