Sciatica is a disease characterized by pain in the legs, numbness, and the inability to walk for long periods of time.
Even after the onset of sciatica, you may continue to work and do household chores as usual, and the symptoms may gradually worsen. In this article, I will explain what people with sciatica should not do. Don't let sciatica get worse, let's be able to manage it yourself.
table of contents
What people with sciatica shouldn't do [list]
First, there are six things that people with sciatica shouldn't do.
- carry something heavy
- try to stretch excessively
- rest too much
- do strenuous exercise
- stay in the same position for a long time
- gain weight
I'm going to explain why you shouldn't do these actions from the cause of sciatica.
What is sciatica
First, let's talk about sciatica.
Sciatica is a condition in which severe pain runs from the back of the thigh to the calf. The sciatic nerve is a bundle of nerves that branch off from the lower back and pass through the back of the thigh. Below the knee, the nerve branches even more. The nerve behind the thigh before it branches below the knee is called the sciatic nerve. Anything that stimulates the nerves from the lower back to the back of the knee can cause sciatica.
There are various diseases that can cause sciatica, such as lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylosis, spinal canal stenosis, and piriformis syndrome.
What people with sciatica shouldn't do [commentary]
From here, I will explain what you should not do with sciatica.
carry something heavy
Possible causes of sciatica include lumbar herniation, lumbar bone deformation, and spondylolisthesis.Therefore, you should avoid carrying heavy objects that put a strain on your lower back.
If you must lift a heavy object, be careful not to bend your upper body too much and bend your legs deeply to hold the load. Leaning forward puts more pressure on the intervertebral discs, so you can reduce the stress on the intervertebral discs by keeping your upper body straight.
try to stretch excessively
Among those who develop sciatica, I think that there are many people who originally have chronic low back pain and stiff muscles around the waist.
Triggered by sciatica, it is also a risk to stretch your waist blindly. Wrong stretching can make the waist bone deformation, misalignment, hernia, etc. worse. When stretching, it is necessary to do it in the correct way while consulting with an expert at a medical institution.
rest too much
Even with sciatica, you may still be able to lead a normal life. The pain of sciatica is strong, so some people rest excessively because they don't want to cause pain. Excessive rest does not lead to fundamental improvement of sciatica. By resting, the muscles that support the body are weakened, and it is possible that the body becomes more prone to sciatica, leading to a vicious cycle. It is important to live a normal life and maintain muscle strength as long as it does not cause pain. Even for common low back pain, rest is not recommended for treatment.
do strenuous exercise
If you have sciatica, it is possible that your abdominal muscles and back muscles have already weakened. If the muscle strength is weakened, a burden is placed on the waist, and damage to the ligaments, muscles, and intervertebral discs around the waist accumulates, which may cause sciatica.
Therefore, strenuous exercise involving jumping or sudden movements may damage the nerves and further exacerbate sciatica.
stay in the same position for a long time
If you stay in the same posture for a long time, the blood flow to your hips and legs will get worse. In addition, since stress continues to be applied to a certain part of the intervertebral disc, deformation is likely to occur.
Therefore, avoid staying in the same position for long periods of time and move your body regularly to avoid straining specific parts of your body.
gain weight
When you gain weight, your stomach becomes heavy, so it becomes a curved waist.
Symptoms may worsen if there is deformation in the hip bone or if there is spondylolisthesis. When your body becomes heavy, it becomes troublesome to move, and it becomes difficult to control your posture. Take care of your eating habits and take care not to gain weight.
summary
This time, I explained what people with sciatica should not do.
Sciatica is caused by herniation of the lower back, deformation of the lower back bone, spinal canal stenosis, etc. It is important not to put too much strain on your lower back. When sciatica is suspected, consult a specialist as soon as possible to find out what is causing the sciatica. And take appropriate action.
In some cases, the lower back may not be the cause, so get an accurate diagnosis.
References
・Kyoko Shibata et al.: Non-invasive method for estimating lumbar disc load to prevent low back pain, LIFE2012, p1-3
http://www.jslst.org/documents/Conference/2012/pdf/GS2-7-3.pdf
・Yuji Atsuta: Fundamentals of Common Sense for Low Back Pain, Journal of Japan Low Back Pain Society, 12(1) p10-15, 2006
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/yotsu/12/1/12_1_10/_pdf/-char/ja
Supervision: Dr. Yasushi Tsuda