Sciatic Exercise | How To Use Warm Water To Your Best Advantage

Sciatic Exercise didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me in the beginning. But when you think about it, even though bed rest is the logical first line treatment of an acute sciatica flare up, it will probably do you more harm than good when prolonged (more than a couple of days). The best thing for you is to get going with your normal routines as soon as possible (while you’ll avoid the kinds of movements that got you into trouble). When your first pain has subsided some you should seriously work towards different kinds of sciatic exercises, in accordance with the underlying cause of your sciatica. What may greatly alleviate one condition may worsen another. That’s one of the reasons you should always consult a back specialist before setting out on your new exercise routine, to see when and with what frequency you should start exercising and which exercises would actually be good for you.

After all of that I’d like to focus on one type of sciatic exercises from which you will probably get the most benefits for your sciatica pain: warm water exercises. Though during an acute injury cold needs to be applied rather than warmth, once the healing process has started warm water is very beneficial in multiple ways.

Soaking in a warm bath will help to relax your muscles, it’ll increase circulation and help to loosen tight muscles; it’ll also speed up the healing process and return mobility to you, since warm water makes the tightened muscles more pliable. To take a warm bath before starting to exercise might be a good idea, just don’t go too long so your body won’t overheat.

Now, being nicely relaxed and all, you could try some water exercises. They are much easier to do than regular exercises, since being in the water will take most of the weight and pressure off your back, joints, ligaments, disks and muscles; it also lowers the pain associated with some of the exercises, especially in the beginning, when there is still some stiffness, and the fear of possible pain, which in itself can make you tense up.

The density of the water will cause your muscles to work harder while at the same time reducing stress for the rest of your body. Even just walking or marching in water can help reduce muscle pain and spasms.

Water exercises altogether and warm water exercises in particular are a great starting point for exercises in general to treat your sciatica or other kinds of back pain. Warm water exercises are among the most beneficial types of exercises, since they will strengthen the muscles you need to keep your spine aligned and the pressure off the sciatic nerve and also reduce inflammation due to increased blood flow.

Apart from water exercises there are all kinds of other exercises you can gradually work towards, but before doing any kind of exercises (now that you have consulted your physician and know which exercises to do), always start out with a warm up routine of at least 5 minutes; like for example a short walk, even walking in place or the use of an exercise bike.

At first you probably should only be doing gentle back stretching exercises and then gradually extend into back and abdomen strength building exercises. Also add some low impact aerobics to your routine at some point. If you find a good balance of all these exercises and you will use a wide variety of muscle groups, which in turn will prevent future flare ups.

So, to put it into a couple of sentences: Sciatica and exercises go together like pie and whipped cream, if you want to see some true and lasting changes in your situation. Just be sure you have consulted your physician before starting your exercises or to self-treat your symptoms and underlying causes for your sciatica, to make sure you know which kinds of treatments you can, should and shouldn’t do.

Looking to find the best sciatic exercise advice, then visit www.sciaticexercise.net to find the best advice on sciatic exercises for you.