Mark, thank you for posting this - it's good info for many of us! Oftentimes in my BodyPump class, we do the Cobra or Baby Cobra pose to stretch our lower backs after ab/core workouts that involve planks, hovers, and other exercises that are hard on the lower back. The pose really helps!
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Originally Posted by watfam4
My problem now is I'm having some issues with sciatica. However, in this case, it's self inflicted from swinging a softball bat.  |
Jim, in case you don't know about it already, there is a another very good stretch (also used in yoga, but I don't have any cool diagrams to post like Mark
) that really helps with sciatic pain. Two yoga-fanatic friends recommended it to me when I was pre-op, and it was a God-send. I still use it on those very rare occasions that my sciatica flares up.
Basically, it involves sitting on a chair or the edge of a bed (or lying on my back on the floor), with the foot/ankle of the sciatic leg crossed over the knee/thigh of the non-sciatic leg. Then I lean forward as far as I can, which causes stretching of the buttock and hip muscles on the sciatic side. I usually hold the stretch, deepening as I am able, for 60 seconds or more. It can provide instant pain relief and, done regularly, reduce the number of flare-ups as well...
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