Sciatica & Back Pain Cure Center

Your back is the central supporting and movement system of your body, so if the muscles that surround and support it are unfit and inflexible you are much more likely to develop sciatica and back problems.

Your lower back, which is where many back problems occur, is supported by the so-called “core muscles”.

If your core muscles in particular are weak, it means your lower back is carrying a larger part of the strain of lifting and twisting and you are more likely to suffer low back pain as a result.

This is why a lot of back pain exercises focus on strengthening these core muscles, or at least “waking them up” and making them more flexible.

Sciatica Exercise - The Back Pull Down
This exercise is quite different to the run-of-the-mill back exercise but it is great at waking up back muscles that are often dormant.

It is best done with an elastic exercise band which you can buy from almost any sporting goods store.

As an alternative, you can use any household item that has some degree of elasticity e.g. an elastic luggage strap, an old bicycle inner tube etc. You can also use a rolled up towel, but the lack of stretch in it will make the exercise harder to do.

Sit upright in a chair with your back straight and your tummy pulled in. Raise your arms above your head holding the elastic band or towel in between them horizontally with your hands approximately shoulder width apart.

Stretch your arms up as far as they will go then slowly pull your arms behind your neck, keeping the elastic band or towel horizontal and with a slight tension on it.

Keep pulling down until the band is roughly half way down your back (if you can get that far). Rest there briefly, then raise your arms again until your arms up as far as they will go again. Remember to keep the band horizontal while you move it up and down.

Do the movements up and down slowly and steadily, don’t rush them. You can change the degree of difficulty and effect of the exercise by increasing or decreasing the tension on the band or towel.

If you pull harder to make it tight as you move up and down it takes more effort, but it has the benefit of working your back muscles harder and differently than if you do it with only light tension in the band.

Repeat the exercise about 5 times the first time you do it (depending on how fit you are and what your back tells you about the effect.

DON’T OVERDO it at first or you’re likely to end up sore and not inclined to do it again for a while and it is best done regularly.

Then you can build up the repetitions over time until you’ve reached 20, which is about as many as you will ever need to do at one time. (Feel free to do more if you want to though. I sometimes keep on going to 30 or more, especially if I’ve been sitting at a PC all day and feel stiff or tense. I might rest for a few minutes and then do another 20-30 depending on how I feel).

Remember the Better Back System gives you a complete easy-to-follow exercise and diet system for treating sciatica and back pain. Check it out here.

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If you have regular episodes of siatica or back pain what you need to do first is:

(a) understand what you are (probably) doing that is causing you back pain in the first place and

(b) learn more how your back works and

(c) find out what you can do e.g. siatica exercises to strengthen your back, avoid injury and stay pain free.

Most people will find out it is possible to stop back pain and sciatica in just a few weeks or sometimes even days and build themselves a healthy back.

The factors that increase the risks of you experiencing back pain or sciatica include common conditions such as:

* Sitting for long periods with a bad posture
* Driving for long periods without a stretch or a walk
* Being overweight
* Smoking
* Heavy lifting with bad technique

Of course, Its better if you get help and take action early, because it will probably reduce the number of times your back pain recurs.

Also, prevention is than a cure, so we’ll also help you learn about what you can do to stop it from happening in the first place.

Things You Can Do To Help Your Back

1. If you want learn more about your back, sciatica and how to deal with your back pain, subscribe to the free Back Exercise Course (see the form on the left of this page)

2. Try the Better Back System.

The Better Back System guides you through a set of special siatica exercises that you can do at home in about 5-10 minutes a day with a 97% chance of success.

3. Start eating properly! Give your body the nutrition it needs to function and heal itself properly i.e. a simple diet with a good selection of fresh foods and less (and ideally no) processed junk is one of the keys to goo dhealth

Because many of the foods we eat today are highly processed, we also suggest a natural nutrition supplement to make sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs. The BodyBalance supplement is one of the best we’ve found so far. Google it and you can often get a month’s free supply which will give you enough time to see if it works for you.

Remember to read our disclaimer. We are not medical practitioners and you should always consult your doctor, health practitioner or back specialist, especially if you experience progressive weakness in the legs.

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Important Note:
Please read the medical disclaimer before attempting any exercises.

SCIATICA & BACK PAIN RELIEF EXERCISE #3

1. Stand with your feet about 45cm (18 inches) apart.

2. Slowly rotate your head and shoulders as far as you can to the left. DO NOT TWIST OR TURN RAPIDLY OR fORCE THE MOVEMENT. Stop when you feel tension or pain in the muscles of your neck and/or back.

3. At this point you will have turned somewhere between 90 and 180 degrees and be looking somewhere between to your left and to your rear depending on how supple you are.

4. Hold the position for a few seconds, count slowly 1-2-3-4-5.

THIS IS IMPORTANT.
The hold time gives your brain a clear signal so it can differentiate between your normal muscle tension and maximum achievable muscle tension.

5. Next slowly return to the straight ahead position and then twist to the right hand side (i.e. in the opposite direction) and hold the position again for a few seconds count slowly 1-2-3-4-5.

AND REPEAT

6. Do the exercise for a minute or two, 4 to 5 times a day and you can expect to see relief from most lower and upper back pain.

EXERCISE STANDING OR SITTING

When you do the exercise standing, twist your whole body. This involves the muscles in your hips and legs also.

You can also do the exercise sitting in which case it works best if you clasp your hands together on top of your head. Measure your progress by monitoring how far around you can get your elbow. This version focuses on the neck and shoulder areas.

The aim here is to see as far behind your back as you can. This way you get maximum rotation of both the neckbone and backbone. Repeat this for 5 minutes, but start out doing less if it makes your back pain worse.

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FACT: In modern life, most people’s back problems arise from too little movement of the right type.

If you let this happen to you, then the muscles that support your back will get out of condition. Then when a strain is placed upon your back, it’s unable to respond properly.

This is especially true if you’re a so-called “weekend warrior” i.e. you have bursts of exercise or play sport with little exercise or preparation in between. (You can often get away with this when you’re young, but not as you get older e.g. 35+).

The result is the muscles supporting your spine “freeze” as a protective measure to prevent injury. This freezing is one of the common sources of back pain and stiffness.

The problems can then start to compound because the pain and stiffness often mean you move less. If you’re not moving much, this means your back becomes weaker and a vicious cycle of pain, stiffness and weakness starts.

So the way to break this cycle is:

Number 1.

Be aware of what your back is doing. The phrase “learn to listen to your body” is often used in health and fitness programs.

The same goes for your back - learn to listen to it. If it feels stiff, get up and/or have a stretch and change position.

- Get up and walk around briefly every 20-30 minutes if you’re a desk worker (PCs are notoriously bad for necks and shoulders).

- If you drive long distances stop and walk around your vehicle every hour or so.

- Lift things correctly - legs bent, arms & load close to your body, stomach muscles clenched, don’t twist until you have stopped lifting.

Number 2.

Regularly exercise your whole body because your back is intimately connected with all of your body.

For example if you have tight hamstrings you will probably get back problems.

Why? Because your hamstrings are very strong muscles and if they’re stiff and pulling on your back, they’re easily strong enough to pull it out of alignment.

The simplest whole-of-body exercise is walking (swimming is even better). Commit yourself to walking a bit more every day and have an occasional swim if you don’t already.

WEIGHT LOSS TIP: I recently read a study which claimed a walk before breakfast will increase your weight loss. Apparently your body burns more fat when you exercise on an empty stomach.

Number 3.

Practice specific exercises to loosen and strengthen the supporting “core stability” muscles and ligaments in your back and surrounding areas.

The specialized exercises for your back in the Better Back System really help you wake up and strengthen your core stability muscles and make your back work properly again.

REMEMBER: Always read our disclaimer before you attempt any exercise.

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