Are you squatting low enough?
Why this matters:
You need to have sufficient hip range of motion to take the stress off of your back. This is increasingly important when dealing with sciatica pain that is often related to a herniated disc or arthritis. The excessive back motion can wear down the strength of the discs, and the excessive motions can actually accelerate the development of arthritis. Not to say that you can never move your back. However, too much of anything can be an issue. So we need to maximize motion at our hips to relieve pain and prevent it from coming back.
Action steps:I love this squat stretch for 2 reasons: 1) it lets you sink deep into the stretch and 2) using your hands on support allows you to focus on moving at the hips, and limiting low back motions. I like to either shift my weight side to side, or bounce my hips up and down. I’ve been experimenting with sets of 10-15 pulses and found some great success.
