|  | Conditions Treatments | Pain Management

Water Aerobics in Sciatic Pain Relief

Sciatica is a symptom of an underlying problem with your sciatic nerve, which runs down each leg from the point in your lower back where it exits the spinal cord. It can manifest as pain, numbness or tingling in the buttocks or elsewhere along the course of the nerve and is usually confined to one side or the other, according to MedlinePlus. Water aerobics can help to relieve the discomfort of your sciatica and also bolster overall health.

  1. What Is Aerobic Exercise?

    • Aerobic exercise is any form of physical activity that increases your heart rate while also boosting your intake of oxygen for a period long enough to have a therapeutic effect on the entire body. Such exercises can target specific problem areas where you are experiencing pain or have otherwise lost mobility. Water exercise has a couple of important advantages over its land-based counterpart. The water provides support for body parts that may be somewhat weakened or painful to move while also offering a level of resistance that makes the body work a little harder to move than would be the case on land. You can begin to reap the benefits of water aerobics "by just walking in waist-deep water," according to the Spine-Health website.

    Benefits of Warm Water

    • Although you'll need to establish a regular water exercise routine, just being in warm water offers some positive benefits on its own. Soaking in warm and soothing waters, according to the Sciatic Exercise Tips website, can accelerate the healing process by helping you to relax and loosen tight and painful muscles while also increasing blood flow throughout your body. This improved circulation carries increased levels of healing oxygen to cells and tissue that need it most.

    Getting Started

    • Once you're in the water, kick off your aerobics routine with some warm-up exercises. These might include walking back and forth across the width of the pool in waist-deep water, walking in place, or hanging on to the edge of the pool in deeper water as you simulate bicycle-pedaling movements with your legs.

    Specific Exercises

    • In an article on the Spine-Health website, Dr. Andrew Cole, clinical associate professor at the University of Washington's School of Medicine in Seattle, offers a few exercises that can help you strengthen muscles in the area affected by sciatica.

      For the first, put one hand on the side of the pool while bringing the knee of the opposite leg toward the chest. Repeat 10 times and then turn around to perform the exercise on the other side. In the second exercise, also done with one hand on the side of the pool, stretch the opposite leg out in front of you while keeping the other leg slightly bent. Repeat 10 times and then reverse. For the third exercise, you'll need a flotation vest. Move back and forth the length of the pool on your back, paddling with both your hands and feet.

Pain Management - Related Articles