Exercises for Rebuilding the Lower Back & Sciatic Nerve

In the corporate world of today, most people find themselves chained to an office chair most days of the week. If you have back or sciatica pain, sitting down all day long will most likely make the pain even worse. You can take the edge of it by simply taking a short walk to the water cooler once an hour. Strengthening and stretching the lower back muscles will make it even better.

Sciatica and Back Pain

• Pain that come from the sciatic nerve being compressed is relieved the same way as the back pain--you need to strengthen and stretch the surrounding musculature. Whether it is sciatica or just back pain, the first thing you need to know is that you should not just lie down. This will only make your pain worse--at least in the long run. According to Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD of Spine-Health.com, "When done in a controlled, gradual and progressive manner, active back exercises distribute nutrients into the disc space and soft tissues in the back to keep the discs, muscles, ligaments and joints healthy."

Exercises

• Your exercise program should include strengthening exercises involving the entire body but that focuses on the glutes and abdominals, stretches that target especially piriformis, the hamstrings and the psoas muscles, and some aerobic exercise such as walking or the elliptical.

  To stretch your hamstrings, lie down on your back with your legs extended. Lift your right leg up toward the ceiling and grab somewhere behind the knee or ankle of that leg (this depends on how flexible you are) and bring the leg as close to your chest as you can. You should feel a stretch behind your thigh and knee area. Try keeping your right leg somewhat straight. If it is so tight you can barely reach, get a towel and wrap it around your leg in the place where your hands should be.

  To stretch the piriformis, simply put the ankle of the right leg on the left knee (the outside of that ankle should connect slightly above the knee) and bring that left knee toward your chest. There should be a space--a hole--between the two legs now. Stick one arm in that hole and wrap it around the left bent leg. Wrap the other arm around on the other side. Bring everything toward your chest. You should feel a stretch deep inside the glute area of the right knee.

  To stretch the psoas muscles on the left side, stand up and put the right leg in front of the other. There should be about one to two feet between your feet (the taller you are, the longer the step). Tuck you left buttock under your hip and lean your trunk backward. You should feel a stretch in front of your hip.

  Hold all stretches for at least 20 seconds, preferably 30.

  McKenzie exercises and dynamic lumbar stabilization strengthening exercises are often recommended by physical therapists. See resources for more information on how to perform McKenzie exercises. The latter involves any exercise in which you need to stabilize your core. Pilates uses lots of these kinds of exercises. But you do not have to do pilates to dynamically stabilize your lumbar spine. Just do lunges and squats and make sure you move your belly button toward your spine and keep it that way throughout the exercise. This way you are strengthening your glutes at the same time as your abs. Do three sets of 20 squats and three sets of 20 alternating lunges. Lunges and squats are probably the most important exercises for anyone who wishes to build low back muscles. You need to do strengthening and stretching exercises every day for it to make a difference.