In this video I'm going to show you a two-minute exercise and stretch routine that you can do to
control your severe sciatica leg pain. In the first part of this video, I'm going to show you
the two minute routine in real time, so that you can get the exercises
and stretches for your sciatica problem. And the second part of the video, I'll be explaining a
bit more details about why these exercises are important for your sciatica problem.
Now in cases exercise and stretch routine does not work for you. You want to make sure
to watch to the end of the video so that you can get tips and advice on what else you could do to
help with a different types of sciatica problems. My name is Dr. David Middaugh, and I'm a
specialist physical therapist at El Paso manual physical therapy. And this channel is dedicated to
helping people stay healthy, active and mobile, while avoiding unnecessary surgery injections,
and pain medications. please consider subscribing so that you don't miss out on any of the helpful
videos that we post every single week. Alright, let's get into it.
First thing you want to do is fire up your glute muscles. And the way you're going
to do that is by lying down on your back. And then you're going to squeeze your butt muscles
as hard as you can without cracking back here without feeling like this is working really hard.
So I'm going to do this for 10 seconds. And then relax. Avoid lifting your hips right now,
just squeeze the butt muscles, you can do this lying down with your legs all the way flat,
just tighten your butt muscles as hard as you can. Another way to do it, but tight with your
knees open. That works for a lot of people. Anyway, you want to do this, just tighten your
butt muscles, get them to work and turn on. You could also do this in standing, just standing up
squeeze the butt muscles as hard as you can get them to get just a bit tired. tighten them up
super hard without getting any cramping. Just make them tight or come really hard.
Okay, once they feel like they're worked up a bit like they're tired, they're starting to get just
a bit tired. Then you're going to go through a mobility routine just like so bend your knees,
and then you're going to twist and go over the other way.
And just go back and forth. About five to 10 times doesn't have to be a lot you
might get some pops and clicks. That's okay. They need to do this bring or why knee to chest
and just hold it there for a few seconds. And then on the other leg. Squeeze that legs butt
muscle for just a few seconds and alternate. But tight on this side, me and on this side.
But tight on my left leg knee and over here to do this a few more times. But tight on the right.
But tying the left knee into the chest on my right. I am sweet squeezing my butt right here.
Then the leg that you have sad pain on let's pretend it's my left, you're going to lay down on
the edge of your bed. Get comfortable and bring this foot down to the ground just right here.
And then all you're going to do is gently stretch the knee just like that is about 10 times.
If you feel pain or discomfort, just stop at the edge of it.
Say it hurts me right here. That's it, I'm only going to go through this range of motion.
If you feel like that ability to move increases if you're like constraint now better than do so.
No muscle contraction here like where you're squeezing hard and tightening or just
moving them moving that knee just like so. If you want to bring your leg up a
bit more and come this way you can just do what you can without increasing your pain.
Alright, that's it real simple and quick. It is important though to make sure you go through that
first round of but tightening may take you a minute or so to do that. Now you can do this
as many times as you like usually after the third or fourth round of this you can begin to get some
significant relief in your sciatica problem. Why is this important for sciatica leg
pain relief? Let me explain what the skeleton just a bit.
If you've got sciatic pain, it's usually pain in this area and it goes down into the leg. Now, the
sciatic nerve pops out right here on the edge of the bone. And the buttock muscles that I had you
engage are right over that that area right there. Typically the joints that are in this region are
affected that cause The side of care pain is this SI joint right here and then you've got
some spine joints right above that. If you can get your butt muscles to tighten up,
it gives you a chance at freeing up the joints in the area that may be stuck. So getting the
muscles to wake up helps to prime the stability and mobility in these joints in this area.
Because then when you go into the mobility routine where you start rolling your legs over, you start
to free up the joints in your lower back. And then when you bring one knee into your chest and
straight out the other one that you alternate like that, then you free up the SI joints in the area.
And then the final stretch that you did, where you're bending and straightening your knee,
you're freeing up the nerve that comes out of the back of the pelvis right here right
with my finger sticking out and runs down the back of the thigh and all the way down
the back of a calf and into the foot. Doing that routine is a whole rounded routine
where you get mobility and stability to the area and mobility in both the joints and the nerve.
So let's cover that routine again. If you've got a little bit of relief, you're going to
want to go through this again, I'm just going to explain a bit more as I'm going along.
So lie down on your back again, let's get those butt muscles to tighten up. If they're already
warmed up great, you want an even more warmed up. So I'm going to lie down flat here, I just feel
like my butt muscles. Tighten the best right here and avoid arching your back as well. You don't
want to stick out your stomach like this and arc your back you want to just squeeze above muscles.
Some people feel better with their knees a little bent like this, some even better. But some feel
even better contraction with their knees bent more and their knees wide like this. Just avoid any
cramps in the hamstrings. Don't tighten so hard that you get a hamstring cramp, you want to focus
directly on those ball muscles to just take them up for a minute or so get them to get real tired.
Relax about every 10 seconds. And then once you feel like they're pretty tired,
it takes a minute to warm them up. Then you're going to go over to the mobility exercises. So
let's go over to give myself some room, drop the knees over Jonathan ease over
gentle stretches you don't want to force anything here by backs pop right there.
Maybe 10 or so times doesn't take much 10 is a perfect number to count.
Once you free up any motion, it's going to free up then going to the other one or you're pulling
your knee towards your chest. And then you're tightening your butt on the leg that's down
right here and just hold it there for two or three seconds and alternate sides. knees to the chest,
tighten the bottom over here two or three seconds. Just like that.
You might feel some stretching on the front of your hip and thigh, that's okay.
You really want to fire the muscle, on bad leg focus on that more than any sort of stretching.
Just like that. And if you want to hold longer, it's okay.
I just am a fan of getting a lot of reps. I'm trying to keep this down to two minutes for you.
Then when you're lying down right here, that nerve exits, like I said the skeleton are right here and
it goes down the back of the leg behind the knee back of the calf into the foot.
So when you stretch out your knee, when you straighten your knee, you stretch the nerve.
When you bend your knee, you put some slack on it.
So here you're just moving the nerve and you're just pumping your foot and straighten your
knee. And just do this for the remainder of the time. You want to take more than two minutes you
certainly can. But you really can't go through this routine in just two minutes. And repeat as
necessary. To get the relief you're looking for. What I find with patients is, the more time they
spend tightening their glutes, it frees up the joints allows the nerve to move better, and it
sets up those mobility exercises even better. So don't be afraid to really get your glutes tired.
Now if this did not work for you, you probably have a different type of sciatica.
Now I've got a video explaining different types of sciatica. And just to give you a
brief detail of it, there's a possibility of you getting your pelvis bone here shifted,
or you're getting your joints and nerves pinched up here in the spine. There are two different
things happening both can happen at the same time. Technically, you'll want to go check out our video
linked down in the description below to tell which type of Sciatica you have. And then you'll
also want to check out our playlist of soccer videos that I've linked down in the description
below. That goes into even more detail about soccer problems, what to avoid what to do.
It's got tons of information there to help you with your static issue. I hope this video helped
you out today. Please give us a thumbs up if you got some relief. And also leave a comment
if you have any questions. We'll get to them as soon as we can have a wonderful day away.