If you have read any of my other posts about this pregnancy you would know my biggest complaint is the sciatica pain. I don’t remember the pain being this bad with my other two pregnancies but I tend to look back on those days with rose-colored glasses. While my pain is related to my pregnancy I’m sure these tips will help even if you aren’t pregnant.
What is sciatica pain? Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. My pain is mostly in my left hip and will radiate down to my left leg. Here are the tips I use to help relieve sciatica pain:
*This post contains affiliated links
1. Stretches for Sciatica Pain
The first thing I do when I start to feel sciatica pain is stretch. This helps move the legs, hips, and lower back just in case the pain can be relieved by movement. The two moves that really seem to help are the butterfly stretch and the pigeon stretch. The pigeon stretch is probably my favorite because you can really feel the movement in your hips, butt, and legs.
If you want to see the stretches I do check out this link: http://www.theblondegiraffe.com/prenatal-sciatica-stretching-guide/
2. Chiropractor
We see our chiropractor once a month but when my sciatica started acting up I went every other week. I honestly love seeing our chiropractor and love the way I feel afterwards. Whenever I’m pregnant I really try to limit the amount of pain relievers I take so I’m very grateful I have such a great chiropractor. If you are experiencing sciatica pain and haven’t tried a chiropractor yet my advice would be to try it and see if its for you. I was hesitant to try it at first but once I started going I can really feel the difference. I have less headaches, less acid reflux, and less sciatica pain.
3. Ice Pack and Heating Pad
Ice and heat are essential for any injury and should be one of the first things you do to relieve the pain. I find that icing my lower back and hip can really help alleviate some of the pain. I use an ice pack usually during the day for about 20 minutes at a time. Sometimes I will use the heating pad if icing my back doesn’t help. I use medium heat and lay on it for about 20 minutes at a time. I’ve added a link to a heating pad on Amazon that is similar to the one I have.
4. Foam Leg Roller
This was suggested by some friends when I asked for some tips on sciatica relief on Instagram. I’m so glad I listened to getting a foam leg roller because it has helped so much! Once I ordered my foam leg roller (I’ve attached a link to the exact one I bought below) I looked up on Pinterest to see how to use it. I love rolling on it and feeling it massage my lower back and butt muscles. The link I added in the stretches section has a leg foam roller stretch too.
5. Yoga
Yoga is something I do sporadically. I love doing yoga in the morning when I wake up before the boys. So I don’t do it that often because Ted will sometimes wake up at 7am or sometimes 8am. If I was a more disciplined person who actually woke up when her alarm rang I would be a yoga junkie. But I’m not. So instead I will randomly look up pregnancy yoga videos on YouTube and do a 10 minute session.
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Final Thoughts
Sciatica pain is no joke and if you have ever experienced it I’m sure you agree. I really hope these tips help you out and you find a way to relieve the pain naturally! Also, since I started writing this my sciatica pain has returned so if you have any tips that helped you relieve the pain let me know! I love feedback and hearing what works for other people!
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I would have never considered a foam roller for sciatica pain. I’m so happy I read your post. I’m hoping to expand our family and now I’ll feel more prepared in the awful event sciatica pain is a part of the package.
Thanks for this… I’m not sure if it’s sciatica or tendonitis, but I sure do need some of these resources.
I have chronic sciatica, and stretching really helps. I can totally relate to this post!