Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief
Today I want to talk about a stretch that can help with sciatica. If you have sciatica, pain in your rear end muscles, or pain in your glutes, this is a stretch that will greatly help.
The sciatic nerve is one of the biggest nerves in the body. It starts in the lower back and then grows into a form of nerves in your pelvis and rear end. The muscles in your lower back sit really deeply, and many of them are seated underneath that nerve.
However, one muscle, called the piriformis, sits on top of the nerves. If this muscle is spasming or inflamed, it can cause sciatic pain. Your glutes can cause similar pain if they are inflamed since they sit over the top of the nerve as well.
In order to stretch these muscles, especially the piriformis, you will need to follow this procedure:
Lay on the ground, on your back.
Raise your right knee.
Using your right hand, bring your right knee towards your left shoulder until it begins to stretch.
Using your left hand, grab your right ankle and begin leveraging it towards the same shoulder.
Hold for 3 to 5 seconds.
Release, and relax your leg to rest it.
Repeat for the other side, mirroring the stretch.
The left knee is pulled towards the right shoulder with your left hand, and your right hand will pull the ankle towards your right shoulder.
You can also place a golf ball, baseball, or tennis ball under your hip to also provide some pinpoint therapy on these muscles.
It is important that you do not force these stretches. As with any stretch, you want to feel the muscles begin to feel stretched, but don’t make it painful. The goal is to avoid injury and relieve pain, not cause further injury by overstretching.