Sciatica and exercises: exercises with warm water

Sciatica and exercises seem counterproductive at first. But the truth is, while bed rest is beneficial at the beginning of a sciatica flare, it will likely make your condition worse if it is exceeded (more than a couple of days). You want to get back to your normal routines as soon as you can (of course, avoiding the parts that led to this condition). Once your worst pain has subsided, you should seriously consider different types of exercises, depending on the cause of your sciatica pain. What helps one case may harm another. For that reason, always consult a doctor before starting exercises to make sure you can start exercising and what exercises to perform and how often.

Having said all that, I would like to focus on one type of exercise that will probably be one of the most beneficial for your sciatica pain. Warm water exercises. Although heat should be avoided and cold applied, once the healing process has begun, warm water is very beneficial in a number of ways.

Soaking in warm water helps you relax, increases circulation, and helps loosen tight muscles; it also helps speed up the healing process. It gives you some mobility back, as the heat makes the muscles more flexible. It’s a good idea to soak in warm water for a while before you start exercising (don’t go too long, so your body doesn’t overheat).

Now that you are well relaxed, you could do some water exercises, which will be much easier to do than regular exercises, since being suspended in the water takes most of the pressure from the spine, the discs, the joints, the ligaments and the muscles; it also decreases the pain of some of the exercises and the fear of pain, which in itself can make you tense.

The resistance of the water will make your muscles work harder and at the same time reduce the impact and stress on the rest of your body. Even walking or marching in water can help reduce muscle spasms and pain.

Warm water exercises and water exercises in general are a good starting point for all exercises after an outbreak of acute sciatica and many other causes of back pain. Warm water exercises are some of the most beneficial exercises as they combine reducing inflammation due to increased circulation and strengthening the muscles that you will need to keep your back and sciatic nerve in good health.

Aside from exercises in the water, there are all kinds of exercises that you can gradually “grow” on, but before doing any kind of exercise (now that you’ve consulted your doctor and know what exercises to do), always start with a routine. warm-up for at least 5 minutes. That could be a short walk, even walking on site or using an exercise bike.

At first, you will probably only do gentle back stretching exercises and then gradually extend to strengthening and balancing exercises for the back and abdomen. You should also add some low-impact aerobics to your routine at some point. Finding a good balance from all of these exercises will use a wide variety of muscle groups, which in turn will ensure that future flare-ups are prevented.

Bottom line: Sciatica and exercises go hand in hand, if you want to see long-term relief from painful sciatica symptoms. Always consult your back specialist before beginning to exercise or self-treat your symptoms and causes, so you know for sure what you can, should, and shouldn’t do.