Exercises for Self Management of Sciatica

As a chiropractor in Burlington that see's a lot of patients with sciatica, home care, exercising and stretching play a big part in recovery.

Below we are going to go over three different exercises that commonly provide relief from sciatica symptoms.  You may find benefit from all of them, or only one.  There is a never a one size fits all or a "cure all" exercise that works for everybody as sciatica can have many different causes such as piriformis syndrome or a disc herniation, so you can try them all out and see which ones work best for you. if you still need help and are looking for a more permanent solution, book an assessment with one of our Burlington chiropractors to get recommendations tailored to your unique situation.

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Exercises for Sciatica Relief

Keep scrolling down for a video demonstration of each exercise

  1. Prone Press ups
  • Perform 10-20 repetitions 3-6 times per day

    • Begin by laying on your belly, and position your hands beneath your shoudlers (like you are about to do a pushup)
    • Use your arms to press your upper body upwards, while keeping your hips and pelvis on the ground.
    • Push up as high as comfortable, with minimal symptoms.
    • Slowly lower yourself downwards to the starting position
    • ***Try to do as much of the work as possible with your arms and chest muscles, and aim to keep the muscles in your lower back and hips relaxed*** 

    2. Seated Sciatic Nerve Flossing

  • Perform 10-15 repetitions, twice per day
    • Begin seated on the side of your bed.
    • At the same time you will straighten your leg, point your toe up towards the ceiling and move your head and neck to look up towards the ceiling.
    • Then you will bend your knee, point your toe down towards the floor, and look downwards towards the floor with your head and neck.
    • Repeat
    • ***During this exercise we want to feel a gentle stretch, but minimal pain.  If you are expereincing pain, do not straighten your leg as far***

    3. Seated Piriformis Stretch

  • Perform 2x30 second holds, 3-4 times per day
    • Sitting with your feet supported you are going to cross your legs, placing the ankle of the affected leg on the knee of the unaffected side.
    • Gently push the knee of the crossed leg down torwards the floor and you will begin to feel a stretch on the outside of your hip.
    • Then, slightly bend forward at the waist to increase the stretch

Watch below for examples of each exercise