Sciatic Nerve Flossing Exercise

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body, measuring roughly three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The nerve runs from the lumbosacral spine in the lower back down each leg supplying sensation and motor function to the all the key components of the thighs, legs and feet. Sciatica, an inflammation of the nerve, can cause intense pain anywhere along its lengthy pathway. Nerve flossing, also known as active release therapy, can help you reduce sciatic pain.

Pinched Nerves

• The most common cause of sciatic nerve inflammation and the pain it triggers is an impingement on that nerve somewhere along its course. Although chiropractors and orthopedists target areas of the spine as the primary source of such pinched nerves, advocates of nerve flossing contend that the vast majority of pinched nerves can be attributed to soft-tissue injuries. In an article written for the Orange County Pain Management website, Sebastian Gonzales, a chiropractor and certified strength and conditioning specialist, says the buildup of excess scar tissue around a nerve is usually to blame.

Theory Behind Flossing

• In its explanation of the effects that soft-tissue damage can have, the official website of Active Release Techniques explains that muscles and other soft tissues that have been overused produce scar tissue that "binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely." This process can result in the shortening and weakening of muscles, increased tension on tendons and entrapment of nerves. Gonzales contends that nerve flossing techniques are so successful in freeing up entrapped nerves that some patients have reported a resolution of their symptoms after a single set of exercises.

Exercises

• Sample nerve flossing exercises for sciatic pain are outlined at the website AllExperts.com. One exercise calls for you to sit in a chair, maintaining good posture, and straighten out the leg on the side in which you're experiencing sciatic pain. Lift the leg out and up in front of you until you begin to experience pain. Don't push beyond that point. You should do 15 repetitions of this leg-stretching exercise up to five times a day. As the nerve becomes less sensitive, increase the stretching effect by flexing the toes of your foot upward toward the shin. In another nerve flossing exercise for the sciatic nerve, lie on your back and raise the knee on the side that hurts. Clasp your hands behind the knee, and then extend the leg up until it triggers pain. This exercise can be performed with 15 repetitions up to five times a day. It, too, can be enhanced with the addition of the foot-flexing element as the sensitivity of the nerve lessens. In a variation on this latter exercise, bring the knee up toward the chest to extend the benefits of this stretching into the area of the groin.