Have you or someone you know experienced Sciatica before? Sciatica is under the umbrella of what is known as Lumbar Radiculopathy.
It may sound fancy.. or scary. But, to simplify it, Lumbar Radiculopathy is when a nerve in your back gets irritated and causes pain (or other symptoms) to radiate to your back, hip, leg or foot.
What May Cause This?
Doing repetitive activities that stress the lumbar spine – such as repeated lifting, twisting, extension – or characteristics such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and poor posture to name a few!
Symptoms do not always begin after one specific incident. Instead, symptoms most often occur slowly over time.
If you begin to feel symptoms that you believe are related to lumbar radiculopathy, re-evaluate your postures throughout the day… how you sit, stand, and sleep! What activities are you doing that may be putting excessive strain on your back? Even if you have been doing this “thing” for months, it may just finally be catching up to you!
OTHER TIPS
- Stay active during the day! Stand up and shake out your legs every 30 minutes if sitting for long periods
- Move your spine in a pain free range of motion – Cat / Cows.
- Perform gentle core stability exercises – Bird Dogs
- Increase blood flow via cardiovascular exercise.. pool walking / running and using a recumbent bike are great places to start!