All you need to know about Sciatica
20/04/2011 00:00:00
Symptoms can include pins and needles, numbness, weakness and tingling down the buttock and back of the leg. For some people, the pain from sciatica can be severe and debilitating. For others, the pain from sciatica might be infrequent and irritating, but has the potential to get worse. Sciatica usually affects one side of the body only. Causes of sciatica vary from pregnancy, ageing changes, posture, to disc prolapse.
There are many conditions that can compress nerve roots and cause sciatica, therefore treatment and symptoms often differ from patient to patient. Physiotherapy treatment is able to help ease this pain and irritation, allowing you to return back to every day activities pain free.
Pilates is often said to help with back pain, which is true to a certain extent- but experts now say it can also make the back pain and sciatica worse! Today it’s estimated that over 1 million people in the UK attends Pilates’s classes after celebrities such as Madonna started. Crucially, participants are taught how to target a muscle called the transverses abdominus, positioned deep in the abdominal area. This they do by drawing in their navel to the spine and lifting the pelvic floor. It is this ‘drawing in’ which may actually cause more harm to the back. It's generally assumed that when you pull in this muscle, the torso temporarily acts like a corset, protecting the lower back, and that if the muscle is used often enough, it will eventually work on its own. However, some many participants don’t complete the exercises correctly (due to large classes), as their core is too weak to start with so back muscles are recruited, which heightens the forces put on the spine and can increase pain. It is easily done incorrectly by people mistakenly holding their breath or sucking in so far that they round their back.
As a result, the correct muscles aren't targeted and, over time, the back becomes more vulnerable than before. If you have back pain and want to start an exercise regime, first consult a physiotherapist. Don’t let Back Pain affect you!
For more information about sciatica and the best thing to do for your back please feel free to contact me at Perfect Balance Clinic on my email, just click here for more information on sciatica
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