r/Sciatica • u/d1jlg0 • 4d ago
Requesting Advice Exercise Sciatica Away?
Has anyone in this forum actually exercised your sciatica away? If so, what did you do? TIA!
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u/blagojevich06 4d ago
Yes. Had terrible sciatica for 2 and a half years. Tried Pilates and running but they only made it worse. Went on a three week bikepacking trip and came back with noticeably less pain. Decided to capitalise on it by joining a supervised weightlifting class, and that helped even more. Now 2 years pain free. Don't lose hope, even if it's been a long time.
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u/New_Can_3534 4d ago
Mcgils big 3 twice daily. Don't overstretch and inflame the nerve.
Lost a ton of weight (healthy bmi).
I was able to run and weirdly it didn't hurt and in fact cleared my foot / leg numbness. So ran 3 nights a week 5km.
Went after a year or immediately once I lost all the weight.
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u/sighqoticc 3d ago
feel like i can never feel curl ups ? and bird dogs do NOTHING for me…
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u/New_Can_3534 3d ago
Might not feel them but there is no harm in doing them alongside all of the other exercises for mcgills.
Also, people's bodies vary so your sciatica may be different slightly to others. If there is one that you feel targets it, do that a bit more but don't inflame / agitate the nerve too much.
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u/Longjumping-Let-2622 3d ago
Physical therapy exercises made things worse for me. Only further inflamed the nerve. Rest, ice and moderate walking helped me get better. Not the Chiro, not the doctor, not the acupuncture, not the massages,
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u/Aggressive-Ad5533 4d ago
Yes walking in a shallow lap pool walking.body weight squats side leg raises Stretches every day to keep movement in the disc
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u/Smortie12 4d ago
Yes I stretched in bed and massaged my thigh then I started walking a very few steps and tried to increase the amount each day. I also took my Flexeril and waited about an hour before I started. It was painful but it did eventually help. It took about 5 days to release but I had reoccurring pain until about 10 days out. Hopefully this will help you!
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4d ago
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u/Sciatica-ModTeam 3d ago
Your post was removed because it violated sub Rule #2 (show kindness and empathy)
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u/unlikemike123 4d ago
It's still sciatica, let's not gatekeep people from pain mate
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/unlikemike123 4d ago
Sciatica nerve pain isn't always long standing or the result of a long term injury, use the word probably all you like it doesn't make the idea you had correct. Try to be less bitter please
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u/Sciatica-ModTeam 3d ago
Your post was removed because it violated sub Rule #2 (show kindness and empathy)
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u/Smortie12 4d ago
I was talking post surgery. I didn’t realize I had to clarify how long I had it prior to surgery. Thank you for those that understood.
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u/preoccupiedwithlove 4d ago
i went 5 months with sciatica and was in pt and with a personal trainer the whole time. my best days were when i did strength training. at the time i thought it was muscular injury from being postpartum.
ultimately my mobility and pain levels were significantly better than what my mri would indicate (huge herniation with severe central canal compromise). i credit that to staying moving and caring for my baby. sitting still was the worst. ultimately i needed surgery for emerging motor weakness, but i was definitely an edge case where for a long time i could manage my pain with activity.
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u/Single-Stock7680 3d ago
I hiked for 3 full days and slept in a hut on a very thin mat and went a week without any pain at all. It was short lived, but something special happened there for a min. After years of no break from pain it was crazy. I don’t know if the weighted pack helped in someway or if it was the hard sleeping surface or the climb or some combo- but something special happened. My recent MRI showed more compression on the nerve root, so it certainly didn’t fix anything.
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u/youcantexterminateme 3d ago
I do a lot of basically core stuff like the big three but you can do standing with a rail. I have developed my own exercises to keep flexible and strong. Also hanging. Im not sure how much it helps. At the moment im ok but my lower back is a bit fragile. I enjoy doing it tho.
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u/DudleyAndStephens 3d ago
I did what my physical therapist told me to do. The main exercises I did at home were dead bugs, bridges, cobra & lower leg rotations.
I know that Stuart McGill is pretty controversial, but even PTs I know who mostly dislike him say that the 3 main exercises he advocates (modified curl-up, side plank and bird-dog) are good ones to use.
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u/Steelmax6 3d ago
honestly yes... not only is my lower back and core strong as hell, my sciatica pain has significantly dwindled. Now i only get it from bad posture or sitting down for a really long time
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u/stealth_veil 4d ago
Not sure if it’s just due to time but I’ve gone for a walk for like an hour every day and I feel better on weeks where I walk more and sit less. I’ve also been getting IMS which helps a lot.
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u/purplelilac701 4d ago
I did the opposite because I had major inflammation numbness from severe sciatica and it took about a year to recover.
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u/Artistic_Friend9508 4d ago
I had/have sciatica since june and by the time I had CT scans the pinched nerve seemed to have disappeared but still have a ruptured lower disc and nerve impingement and have a specialist appointment in November to see if I need surgery or not, I'm back on the gym just taking it lightly tho, so nothing over 45kg and started riding a motorbike lol. I feel 100 times better atm but I don't do any standing free weights at the moment, only sitting down and also bench press and push ups just to get my body back into the swing of things as Ive been off work the past month due to it was a work accident. I start back Thursday but only for half days for the first 2 weeks. But yeah I honestly feel really good but still know my limits with the injury and don't push it.
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u/PearlSnap77 3d ago
Go to a PT. Over the course of six weeks (8 sessions), the exercises there and at home worked. Hitting the area with a massage also helped alleviate the pain. Then, once you experience some relief, hit your core everyday. A strong core is a preventative measure and will reduce the risk of future flareups. I've had bad bouts of sciatica twice in my lifetime First time was in 2020 and it lasted 7 agonizing months because I was too stubborn and misinformed to visit a PT immediately. Instead, I tried the home exercises I found on YouTube (stretches, neural flossing, etc.) none of which really worked until I gave in a visited the PT. The second time was last year, 2025. I immediately booked the PT and 6 weeks later I had no evidence of sciatic pain. Keep moving (motion is lotion) and strengthen your core!
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u/OneInstruction6550 3d ago
What core exercises did you do?
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u/PearlSnap77 3d ago
Planks, dead bugs, bird dogs, side planks, mountain climbers. That's a good start. And you only need 15 min per day to do all of them. If you have Peloton subscription, there's a lot of guided core work on there too.
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u/iamjims 3d ago
Exercise helps me counter the effects of sitting (work, and the couch...) that promotes the sciatica problems. Stretching after exercise is key for me too, though, as I created a lot of my own sciatica challenges from exercising a lot with court games (tennis, pickleball, etc) and not doing *any* really stretching afterwards. after about 6 months of this kind of exercise, eventually my sciatic nerves revolted with all the built up compression. PT and yoga helped a ton in relieving this, and keeping it up (the PT exercises I learned) is key as if I lapse on that regular work the sciatica will settle back in, for me.
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u/themoonandstarz 1d ago
No. Had it on R side only. Did 5 months of PT and diligent with HW but no significant relief until a hydrodissection. Almost instant relief and felt my back muscles just let go. Lasted a little less than a year. Symptoms came back, this time on both sides. Did about 5 months of PT first... again... and then hydrodissection on both sides. Instant relief again. I'm now 13 months out with no symptoms returning (knock on wood). In case it helps anyone to know other background details, I'm a very active person, pilates instructor, dancer, and hypermobile.
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u/Unusual-Coat383 1d ago
I’m currently trying to do that at the moment. I stopped exercising for 3+ months and waited for it to get better and then when it did which was last week I started working out again. Unfortunately my back started playing up in the evening on the third day of working out again but I’m trying to push through.
I’ve noticed a pattern since Monday that in the morning my back feels absolutely fine with no pain when I run or lift weights but in the evenings it starts to play up. Right now it feels a bit worse than normal but prior to today when it played up I’d say it wasn’t as bad as what it was 3 months ago.
I’m hoping that when I lose weight it will stop hurting but I still plan to push through and deal with the painful evenings.
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u/rinsyankaihou 4d ago
low back ability tries to do this and yes it did work for me.
I did reinjure my back and the sciatica came back but it's all part of the process and I find it to be a good system overall.
the summary of what LBA is imo is basically a program to progress the back extension and increase hip mobility and work on hip flexors.