sciatica & exercise

[Philfran]

I’ve been receiving physio for sciatica for 4 or 5 months. I was making some progress, even managing the 6 min walk on good days. Then, just over 3 weeks ago, I fell heavily, back to square 1, plus some extra aches & pains. Even with max dose Ibuprofen & Paracetamol, my daily steps are halved. I’m now doing physio related to the new injury & would struggle to do anything more. My big worry is that I’ll never get back to where I was. Any suggestions for getting through this?

[Twinwoods5]

Hi there Sorry to hear of your problems. I had sciatica really badly over 13 years ago. The main thing you need to do is keep active as there is a muscle called piriformus that gets very short and it needs to be lengthened by stretching it out slowly. Your physio would have definitely given you the stretch to do. If you don't like doing on the floor then do it in a chair. Join a local chair based exercise group or do one on YouTube. If you can't walk at the moment you need to keep all the muscles strong so they don't waste, (which only takes 2 weeks.) My sciatica led me to train to be a Nordic walking instructor and that has kept the wolf from the door. Now I have a broken leg so I am making time to stretch and do chair based exercises so when I can get back on my feet I will recover. Good luck. Try using a walking pole, it must be long enough so your arm is at a right angle and use opposite arm opposite leg. Ask your physio for advice on this subject. It's the work you do in between physio appointments that's the main thing. That's easy to say but hard to do but with the right mindset it's possible. Good luck