Re: Real relief for Sciatica
After years of spending a lot of money and getting so-so help against sciatica from chiropractors and yoga stretches, I have come across two methods to deal with sciatica, one is dirt cheap but can hurt,the other one is pleasant but costs you. Both work well for me.
1) The budget plan:I use a tennis ball, and sit on it on a carpeted floor. For the length of a few deap breaths ( deep breathing relaxes the muscles, helps to deal with the discomfort)I lean into the ball and into that area in my buttocks and hips where it hurts, then move 1/2
inch over and repeat the procedure, etc.etc. Let the pain be a "good" pain, not a bad bad one. It may take 5 to 10 min to cover the whole area. Do it every day. I go easy in the beginning. After a few days of initial adjustment you will find that the sciatica lessens; you become more tolerant to the pressure, then start using a little more. This is sort of a do-it-yourself shiatsu or acupressure treatment. (If you have someone willing to work on you, you can teach them how to use their elbows on your buttocks, instead of the tennis ball). When I started with this treatment for the first time, I had pain radiating from my buttocks down to my knee, sometimes below. The nights were worst. I persevered, it took me a whole month and three tennis balls to become totally pain free.
I always pack a tennis ball when I travel, cheap insurance in case sciatica rears its ugly behind when away from home.
2) the delux treatment: get a chi machine. I use it daily for 15 min. for various health reasons. I have used it for about one year, eliminated a lot of neck, shoulder, and back pains, and no more sciatica! Except once, when travelling; luckily I had brought my tennis ball.
Give it a try and let me know how you are doing with it.
Do