Sciatica! Imagine you wake up tomorrow morning and there’s no leg pain. That’s right, you wake up tomorrow and there’s no more sciatic nerve pain, no more back pain radiating down the back of one or both of your legs, making your life miserable, making it impossible to do even the simplest tasks.
Can you imagine such a thing? When you are in pain, particularly back and leg pain, sciatica, there comes a time when you forget what it is like not to be in pain. There is hope! The 3 best ways to get real relief are here and I have them for you, now…today!The first, probably easiest way to achieve immediate back pain and sciatica pain relief is to purchase the right shoes. Shoes, you might ask? Shoes! The type of shoes you wear day in and day out, and for most seven days a week, are probably contributing to your sciatica and back pain in a big way. You see, when you wear the same shoes all the time, even if they had great cushion and support when you purchased them, even if they are as comfortable as an old pair of slippers now, are undoubtedly broken in and broken down, no longer providing any cushioning or shock absorption at all. Wear your favorite shoes for several hours, constantly on your feet, and it is an absolute certainty that even the healthiest of backs are going to begin to hurt. If you have a bad back to begin with, the wrong shoes can be the kiss of death, adding exponentially to your back pain and sciatica. The best shoes, the ones with the best support and awesome cushioning are New Balance, hands down! Or is it feet down?
Next in our list of the five steps you can take to immediately alleviate or eliminate back pain and sciatica is posture. How many out there have been told, often from as far back as we can remember, to “Stand up straight, don’t slouch!” I will bet most of us have heard that one a few hundred times. Do you want to know what is even more frightening? We are probably parroting the same awful advice ourselves now. The fact is, we should not stand with our “Chests out, stomachs in,” and all that military bearing stuff, if we want to remain back and leg pain free. By doing so, standing up straight, we invariably exaggerate something called lordosis, the lumbar, low back or secondary curvature that develops as we stand upright after the first year of life. You see, the lumbar region of the spine is the culprit when it comes to where back pain and sciatica begin (etiology). When we stand erect we place unnecessary stress on a region of the spine already at risk for trauma and degeneration, the major contributor to back pain and sciatica. Interestingly, the other “secondary” curvature, the neck, is also a major factor in overall back pain…but that’s the subject of another article.So what is the best way to deal with this whole posture issue? Well, have you ever watched a mom with a toddler on her hip? Have you ever noticed how when you shift your hips from one side to the other, the pain disappears? Have you noticed when you stand next to a stool, placing one foot on the lowest rung, you get immediate relief? Well, you’ve got back pain and sciatic nerve pain relief answer number two! By shifting your weight and either placing one foot higher than the other or by shifting your pelvis (hips) side-to-side, you get sweet, wonderful, and immediate relief from back pain and sciatica!
Finally, in order to get optimal and long-lasting relief from back pain and sciatica, avoiding the surgeon’s blade once and for all, you must stretch and exercise your legs, lower back, and core every day. If you do this, in combination with the first two examples, you will be on your way to total and lasting relief.”Well,” you may ask, “How can I exercise or stretch when I’m in as much pain as I am in?” It’s a valid concern and a good question, one I’ve raised myself many times. You see, I’ve suffered from back pain and sciatica for most of my life. The strategies for dealing with back and sciatic nerve pain I am suggesting, and most of the things you are experiencing, I’ve used and experienced myself. You see, in order to alleviate and eventually eliminate my lower back pain and sciatica, I employed these same techniques…and a few more. Yes, I’ve used pain medication and ice, heat and traction for both my back pain and sciatica. In fact, I challenge you to name something I haven’t tried for pain! I’ve had back surgeries (with a capital S), injections, physical and occupational therapy, electro-stimulation, and more alternative procedures for back pain and sciatica than I can or would ever want to mention here. And, after all was said and done, only one thing worked, only one thing gave me complete and permanent relief. The one thing was and is exercise of a certain type; a program, I would venture to guess, you can only get from half-dozen practitioners world-wide, one that works for both back pain and sciatica!
No, I am not talking about the sheet of exercises you get from the physical therapist as they’re pushing you out the front door of the hospital in a wheelchair three days after surgery. I’ve received those too and they are only good for one thing. Well, two if you have a bird! No, I am talking about an individualized program; one that, once again, works for both back pain and sciatic nerve pain.How do you start? You start by doing numbers one and two above, immediately. Go to the store, do not pass go, do not collect $200, just get there and purchase the best pair of New Balance shoes you can afford. Why New balance? No, I don’t own stock in the company. New Balance shoes are consistently rated at or near the top of the Runner’s World survey for heel cushioning, have been for years. And, if you know anything about runners and running, heel cushioning is extremely important. Next, think about how you stand and keep posture in mind at all times. Forget all that military jargon and shift your weight often. Now, with numbers one and two thoroughly established, you and are well on your way to number three…icing whenever you have pain. Never, and I will say this again, never use heat! Finally, you get a good program of exercise and stretching, and stick with it! The three, in concert, will make you a new person in days, sometimes hours.In the next few articles we will go into greater depth regarding various bad back and sciatic nerve pain strategies for athletes, pregnancy, and the elderly. So, stick around and thanks for checking this article out.
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