Sciatic Exercise didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me in the beginning. But when you think about it, even though bed rest is the logical first line treatment of an acute sciatica flare up, it will probably do you more harm than good when prolonged (more than a couple of days). The best thing for you is to get going with your normal routines as soon as possible (while you’ll avoid the kinds of movements that got you into trouble). When your first pain has subsided some you should seriously work towards different kinds of sciatic exercises, in accordance with the underlying cause of your sciatica. What may greatly alleviate one condition may worsen another. That’s one of the reasons you should always consult a back specialist before setting out on your new exercise routine, to see when and with what frequency you should start exercising and which exercises would actually be good for you.

After all of that I’d like to focus on one type of sciatic exercises from which you will probably get the most benefits for your sciatica pain: warm water exercises. Though during an acute injury cold needs to be applied rather than warmth, once the healing process has started warm water is very beneficial in multiple ways.

Taking a warm bath helps you to relax, it increases circulation and helps to loose tightened muscles; it also helps speeding up the healing process. It returns mobility to you, since the warmth makes the muscles more pliable. It is a good idea to take a warm bath for a while before starting to exercise (don’t go too long, since your body might overheat).

Now, being nicely relaxed and all, you could try some water exercises. They are much easier to do than regular exercises, since being in the water will take most of the weight and pressure off your back, joints, ligaments, disks and muscles; it also lowers the pain associated with some of the exercises, especially in the beginning, when there is still some stiffness, and the fear of possible pain, which in itself can make you tense up.

The water’s density will make your muscles work harder while simultaneously it’ll reduce the stress for your entire body. Just marching or walking in the water can be a good start to reduce muscle spasms and pain.

Warm water exercises and water exercises overall are a great starting point for exercises altogether after an acute sciatica flare up and other causes of back pain. Warm water exercises are some of the most beneficial exercises since you get both the reduction of inflammation due to increased circulation and the strengthening of the muscles that you will need to keep your back and sciatica nerve in good health.

Apart from water exercises there are all kinds of other exercises you can gradually work towards, but before doing any kind of exercises (now that you have consulted your physician and know which exercises to do), always start out with a warm up routine of at least 5 minutes; like for example a short walk, even walking in place or the use of an exercise bike.

When you start out you probably should stick with careful back stretching exercises and then step by step build into strength building exercises fro your abdomen and back. Then you can also widen your range to some low impact aerobic exercises. With a balanced array of all of these exercises you will work many different muscle groups, which will then help you to prevent future flare ups of sciatica.

So, to put it into a couple of sentences: Sciatica and exercises go together like pie and whipped cream, if you want to see some true and lasting changes in your situation. Just be sure you have consulted your physician before starting your exercises or to self-treat your symptoms and underlying causes for your sciatica, to make sure you know which kinds of treatments you can, should and shouldn’t do.

Want to find out more about sciatic exercise, then visit Christina Meier’s site on how to choose the best sciatic exercises for your sciatica.