What This Physio Did When He Got Sciatica

Will Harlow, the over-50s specialist physio, got a taste of his own medicine:

How to bounce back (without bouncing your back)

Sciatica is quite a pain, to say the least, not to mention a considerable inconvenience. And yet, it can strike even very healthy people, but if it does, it’s not the end of the world and there are things to do to fix it.

When it happened to Will Harlow, lessons he quickly learned included:

• his sciatica symptoms were unpredictable and chaotic
• certain slight positions hurt more than larger movements
• spinal compression from heavy loads often worsened symptoms
• exercises or stretches that he knew “should” help actually worsened his symptoms too
  • in this latter case, his mistake was that he introduced them too early; he needed to get past the first stage of recovery first!

So, he recommends to learn from his mistakes and stay as active as possible without provoking symptoms, prioritize walking throughout recovery, and/but modify gym training (light loads, focus on good form, keep a neutral spine where reasonably possible) rather than stopping entirely.

Sleep positioning can be a big deal for sciatic (well, in general really, but especially in cases of sciatica), and side sleeping with a pillow between your knees can reduce nerve tension, improve pelvic alignment, and make sleep far more comfortable.

For more on all of this and some specific exercise recommendations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!