If you’ve ever experienced the discomfort of buttock and thigh pain when sitting in a car, working at a computer, lifting, or working around the house, you have experienced sciatica. At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine , we have heard lots of people tell us how they feel weak and helpless when they have buttock and thigh pain. They really want to stop living with sciatica and you probably do too.
The burning and aching can of sciatica can start in your buttock and progress to a deep ache in your thigh and leg. This is mainly caused by pressure on a nerve in your back from sitting poorly at a computer or in a car or from lifting with a back that is repeatedly flexing and unstable.
The good news is, we have a solution for you. By harnessing the power of targeted exercises, you can reclaim your life and stop living with sciatica.
Tall Sitting
In the video above, this patient’s low back is very rounded out, putting a lot of pressure on the low back. This pressure irritates the nerves in the low back, causing buttock and thigh pain.
Tall sitting keeps you out of a flexed low back and decreases the pressure on the low back. Doing this is key to help you stop living with sciatica.
To do this correctly, just try to think about sitting tall. You don’t want to let you lower back dump backward.
Set a timer to remind you to get up every hour. That will force you to “reset” your back and give yourself a break from sitting.
Bridge Holds
Doing this exercise will help to improve the endurance and coordination of you back extensors and glutes. These muscles working correctly is important to help you stop living with sciatica.
Make sure to keep you back straight throughout the movement. Your hips should be the main area of movement. You should feel this working in your butt and low back muscles.
Start with 5 reps and hold for 20 seconds with 30 seconds of rest between them. Do these twice a day. Try to work up to 2 sets of 1 minute holds with 30 seconds of rest between them.
Deadlift
Deadlifts area really good way to train how to lift so you can stop living with sciatica.
In the video above, you can see that there is no flexing of the spine when lifting. All the bending comes at the knees and hips. This protects your low back when lifting.
It is also a great way to strengthen the low back and thighs. A couple key points with this exercise:
- It is really important to keep a slight arch in your low back throughout the movement. You should not bend forward at your back at all.
- Start with the weight on a chair or gym bench instead of the floor. You may even want to start with no weight until you learn the movement better.
- Don’t worry about lowering the weight all the way to the floor. Start just trying to get your hands to knee level.
Start with 2 sets of 10 every other day. As it gets easier, increase to 2 sets 15. Then go to 3 sets of 10. Then 3 sets of 15. At that point, you’re ready to add more weight.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine in Alexandria and Springfield, VA, our physical therapists are experts at treating sciatica and will develop a plan to help you stop it.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to request an appointment.
A member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t have a plan to stop living with sciatica?
- Computer work takes extra long because you have to keep stopping to rest your back
- You’re mean to your family and friends because your buttock and thigh hurt all the time
- You stop exercising to avoid pain, making you more likely to get other diseases and injuries
But WITH a plan to stop living with sciatica you can live the life you want again.
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a ton of time and are pretty easy to do correctly. They can help you get moving and living an active life again.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist in Alexandria or Springfield, VA will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to stop living with sciatica and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
