Don't Let Sciatica Slow You Down In 2019
'Sciatica' and 'Bulging Discs'...Can It Get Better Without Surgery?
Is this happening to you?
Have you ever felt a ‘twinge’ in your back bending over to pick something up? Or have you ever felt that nagging discomfort in the back of your hip when you’ve been driving for way too long? Have you ever experienced deep, burning pain that shoots down your leg which seems to come out of nowhere sometimes?
If this sounds like you, then you, like many others out there may be dealing with a common back injury we know as 'sciatica'...
What is sciatica?
Sciatica is a very common symptom usually caused by a ‘pinched nerve’ in your back that may come in the form of a ‘bulging’ or ‘herniated’ disc…
It can cause a 'deep pain' or 'tooth ache' in the back of your hip or 'nerve pain' that travels down your leg...
Sometimes it feels like you've pulled your 'hamstring' muscle, even though you don't recall ever doing anything like that.
What makes it tricky to deal with sometimes is you may feel pain in your LEG, but it might actually be coming from your BACK even though you may not have pain in your back!
Why does it happen?
Sciatica symptoms generally occur in people who sit too much, have poor hip and spine mobility, and weak 'core and back muscles' that are not able to support the back properly.
Like most injuries, it generally doesn’t happen ‘all at once’, but builds-up over time in the form of stress, strain, and pressure on the 'discs' in your back...
These ‘discs’ are generally strong and resilient ‘jelly donuts’ that when introduced with loads greater than the tissues are able to tolerate over long periods of time, may ‘push fluid’ onto the nerves, causing pain.
Over time, more pressure builds up, thus, more pain, and less ability to do simple tasks such as bending or sitting...
Is it fixable?
YES!!!!!
But it does NOT go away on its own with simply ‘resting’ or ‘waiting’…
Instead of trying to get to the ROOT CAUSE of the problem, most doctors choose to treat the symptoms of ‘sciatica’ with some form of painkiller, recommend 'rest' and also suggest more ‘invasive’ procedures such as an injections, or even surgery if it doesn’t get better!
But they make the critical mistake of only seeing a 'back' and do NOT take a look at the WHOLE PICTURE...
But if you look at the body and its movement as a whole, and put your back in the right ‘environment’ to heal, you still have a GREAT chance at healing completely naturally!
- Just like a cut on your skin will not heal properly if left in a dirty place…
- Or someone trying to lose weight living in a house full of bread and cookies…
- Or imagine a coal-miner who is suffering from lung problems…
The environment in which you live in dictates how well your ‘sciatica’ or ‘pinched nerve’ can heal!!!
For example, recently I worked with a very active woman from Venice named Shelly (age 41)…
She initially hurt her back at Barry’s Boot Camp as she tried desperately to get back in shape for a high school reunion.
She was feeling great, was losing weight, but felt a bit of nagging back stiffness in her workouts...
This quickly turned into something more serious when she was trying to do ‘deadlifts’.
Suddenly, she felt a ‘pull’ which shot down her leg and stopped her from exercising.
She went to see the doctor, but all she got were painkillers (didn't take them), was told ‘rest’ and 'stretch her hamstrings'.
Shelly did what she was told and rested on her sofa, and per the doctor’s advice, stretched her hamstrings 3 times/day.
However, at the end of 6 weeks of ‘resting’, she wasn’t improving, if anything she’d gotten worse…
Why?
Because she was 'sitting' too long each day, stretching her 'hamstrings', and not moving enough while 'resting'.
This created a POOR environment for healing, placing MORE strain on her disc, and nerve, rather than alleviating it!
When she did make it in to see us, we were able to quickly get to the root of the problem, and were able to reduce her pain by over 60% within DAYS by doing just 3 simple things…
1. She set a timer on her phone which reminded her to stand up every 10 minutes at her desk at work, and instead of sitting in her recliner at home, she laid on her stomach instead.
2. She performed 10 “backward bending” movements every hour to ‘offset’ the amount of ‘forward bending’ her body was doing.
3. She STOPPED stretching her hamstrings, but instead focused on stretching the ‘tighter’ (but often neglected) “hip flexor” muscles in the front of her legs
Using these 3 very simple strategies put her back, and her body in a MUCH HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT to heal, and took her body OUT of the position which was causing her pain…
And not only was she out of pain, but she also:
- Returned to the gym (and now exercising with MUCH better form, and crushed her goal of losing 20lbs)
- Made a key change to her lifestyle by using a standing-desk to keep pressure OFF her healing disc
- Was able to heal her ‘bulging disc’ completely naturally without taking a single pill!
Our bodies are capable of healing, in AMAZING way, but understand that placing it in the proper environment to heal is of utmost importance...
And for Shelly, taking FURTHER action, and not simply ‘waiting’ for her back to get better made all the difference…
And even though she’d been diagnosed with a ‘bulging disc’ and had severe ‘sciatica’, she was able to completely return to her normal, active lifestyle…
DISCLAIMER:
For each and every person, the root cause of sciatica can be quite different, and what may have worked for Shelly, may not be right for you! If you try some of these movements, or strategies, and you feel it is making your symptoms worse, then I URGE you to stop, and instead, send me an email at santo@victoryperformancept.com and I will do my best to help guide you through this process!
To your health in 2019!
Santo Riva, Doctor of Physical Therapy
PS. if you ever have ANY questions, or would like me to clarify about a topic, or would like to talk about any specific problems you may be having, please send me an email at santo@victoryperformancept.com and I’ll be happy to respond to your question promptly!
PPS. If you’re ready for a more specialized treatment plan that is guaranteed to get to the root of your problem, give us a call OR hit the button below and fill out the short form.
424-543-4336