A few months ago, I was working with a client who was experiencing sciatica pain for a while. Upon assessing their health history, we realized that the mechanism of injury (aka cause of the pain) was from a twisting motion. They couldn’t find any relief in any positions and they were at a loss. The client then reached out looking for help in any way possible.
So I went through my assessment process: range of motion and strength; but also asked one of the most important questions (well all questions are important): what positions make you feel even the slightest better. The revealed to me that if they laid down on the side of pain, they felt a little more comfortable (not a full recovery, but better as compared to standing).
That was all the information that I needed. So we looked at the side lying position, and tried to increase the degree of this motion. I like to call it the “draw me like one of your French girl” poses, if you remember that scene in the Titanic. As strange as it felt, this actually completely abolished (aka got rid of) the pain that she was experiencing for the past couple months.
Not sure what stretch I’m talking about? Here’s a video. (You can lie down on the symptomatic side or asymptomatic side, your body will dictate which one will feel better). I usually recommend doing this for about 10 repetitions every 2-3 hours (if you have access to a bed or can get on the floor).
This stretch may feel strange, but it works, if your body prefers this direction.
The past couple days I have been sharing with you some of the awkward stretches that may be helpful. Remember, that there is no stretch that is too weird to complete, as long as it is helpful for you.
But pain relief is only one step in the process. I like to call this stage, the “symptom mitigation” stage, or putting out the fires. The next step is to prevent the fires or flare ups from happening.
So if you are dealing with pain, and have found something that provides you relief, that’s great! It’s time for you to take a deep dive in your head and think about your triggers. Ask yourself, what can you do with those activities to prevent future flare ups. If you need help with this, let’s hop on a call and talk about a plan of action. You can book here.
If you are still in an active state of pain and are in need of some help trying to figure out how to put out those fires, then book a free strategy call with me here. You are not alone in this journey.
Also, if you don’t want to wait to speak with a member of our team, and want to try and figure it out on your own: the sciatica protocol is built specifically for those who want to work it out on their own (consider it like a DIY program). We have a free 3 day trial for you and only $9.99 per week after that. You can cancel anytime. Check it out here.
