Three exercises to avoid with sciatica

Have you experienced a shooting pain burning its way down your leg? You might not know it, but this particular symptom is a strong sign that you have sciatica. 

Sciatica is a condition where the sciatic nerve is pinched or irritated. This nerve runs from the lower back and down the back of your leg to your feet. At any point, the sciatic nerve can be pinched or irritated, but it most commonly happens in the lower back. Although physical therapists often prescribe exercises to help reduce sciatica symptoms, there are three exercises they’ll likely tell you to avoid while you have sciatica. 

Therapists recommend avoiding these three exercises with sciatica

Avoiding all exercises when you have sciatica isn’t something you should do. One goal of physical therapy for this condition is to get you moving again. A medical study reveals that 79% of the participants who received physical therapy reported significant improvements in their sciatica. But this doesn’t mean that all exercises and therapy techniques are created equal. Some exercises your therapists might encourage you to avoid include: 

• Bent-over rows — This exercise involves lifting a weighted barbell or a set of dumbbells while bent over at the waist. The goal is to increase the strength of arm, shoulder and back muscles. However, adding one pound of weight means you’re creating 10 pounds of extra stress on your back when you bend over. Thus, the added stress the bent-over row can cause makes it one that sciatica patients should skip until they recover. 

• Double leg lifts — Doing double leg lifts can be helpful for strengthening your core. This exercise specifically targets abdominal muscles and lower back muscles. However, weakness in these muscles can add stress to your back when you’re doing a double leg lift. In turn, this added stress can lead to an increase in sciatica pain. 

• Leg circles — Moves that require you to make circles with your legs are common in many yoga, Pilates and circuit training routines. Exercises that involve moving your legs in a full circle require that your hamstrings stretch suddenly. If your hamstrings are tight, this can lead to increased irritation of the sciatic nerve. 

Peak Performance can help you learn which exercises to avoid with sciatica

Are you wondering if there are more exercises you should avoid with sciatica? Our Peak Performance team can help you. We offer free screenings that are intended to reveal how sciatica is affecting your body. With this information, our team can build you a personalized treatment plan that may include exercise to improve your symptoms. Your plan might also include other techniques like: 

• Manual therapy
• Myofascial release
• Aquatic therapy
• Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) 
• Electrical stimulation

Contact us today for more information or to schedule a free screening to start treating your sciatica.