#njpersonaltrainer

By Jose Fuentes/Author/MS/LBCS/CN/Speaker

People have an innate need to reconnect with their bodies. Many people have been decreed by their doctors to stay in drugs for the rest of their lives in order to avoid pain. The wringing therapies , which  I put people when in need to core strengthening for back pain and sciatic nerve damage. Have caused anguish and rejoicing. They are not the typical therapies at your chiropractor’s office. But definitely work!

Let’s see. Symptoms of sciatica stemming from the lumbar spine. primarily level, the L3-L4 level, in the lower spine may include: pain and/or numbness to the medial lower leg and foot; weakness may include the inability to bring the foot upwards (heel walk). The patient may have reduced knee-jerk reflex.

Here are 5 things you can do to reduce sciatic pain in 3 weeks:.

Nutrition.

As a nutritionist and trainer my job is to inform you of the two variables. Those two are both interconnected. If your nutrition is crappy don’t expect your body not to be that way!

Your body deteriorates at a rapid rate after you keep adding high levels of salt, sugars, gluten and toxins. Your back plates are made of deformable thin cartilage. Which is porus for the transport of nutrients. Such as oxygen and glucose. Under large compressive loads; which results when sitting for long time, running or training with weights. Fluids of the disks are squeezed out throughout the end plate. This results in a narrow disc spaced. Yet when the load is removed, fluid flow restores the height  and facilitates nutrient transport. The more you feed your body with things that will facilitate the passage of healthy nutrients in the spine the healthier your discs will become. You will also experience a significantly less pain reduction.

My favorite food items for these are:

Cinnamon

Tumeric

Cummin

Ginger

Avocados

Pinneaple

 2-Strengthen your transverse abdominis and multifidus muscles!

Debilitating low back pain, which causes sciatic nerve damage, suffer simultaneous changes in our motor control systems. Recognizing these changes is important since they affect our daily life’s basic functions.

Many clinicians have paid attention to the transverse abdominus and multifidus muscles to reduce sciatic  pain symptoms and low back disturbances. Here are the exercises I recommend to strengthen this vital aspect of your core and reduce sciatic pain:

Leg raises:

Activating the multifidus will help to strengthen your back.

Lie on a mat on your back and bend one knee, resting your foot on the floor and extending the other leg. Raise your straight leg about a foot, keeping your abs and glutes contracted. Hold your leg in this position for a count of three before slowly lowering it back to the floor. Do 10 reps with each leg, keeping your resting leg bent while working the extended one. As you gain lumbar strength, you can advance to tracing square and circle shapes in the air with your working leg.

 Lateral Flexion

Spinal muscles are important for bending your body from side to side, or lateral flexion. Lateral flexion exercises are useful for working your lumbar multifidus muscles. Lie on your side on an incline bench that has been adjusted so that the top of the bench hits you just below your waist. Cross your arms over your chest and bend your torso down to the side so that you're leaning over the top edge of the bench. Keep your back straight, only bending your spine at the waist. Do 10 reps on one side, then repeat with another 10 reps on the other side.

 Transverse Abdominal Exercises. The transversus abdominis is the deepest abdominal muscle. It sits below the oblique muscles. It acts as an abdominal support belt and plays a major role in maintaining posture.

Plank

Begin this exercise on your stomach. After hollowing your abdomen, lift your body up onto your elbows and toes. Do not allow your back or pelvis to tilt as you plank.

In addition, your spine should remain flat and your buttocks should stay in line with your body. After holding this position for 5-10 seconds, slowly lower back to the ground.

 Glute Bridge.

Complete this exercise by lying on your back with your knees bent. After hollowing your abdomen, lift your buttocks off the ground. It is important to continue breathing throughout the exercise. After holding the position in the air for 1 to 2 seconds, slowly lower your buttocks back to the ground.

3-Glutes the forgotten muscles!

Running or walking, sitting or kneeling. It’s simple; if the gluteals are not recruited to levels that are necessary to both spare the back and to foster better performance, your sciatic pain will not stop. Further more, it will damage other structures of the core. I call this gluteal amnesia.

 Weak gluteal and abdominal wall complex with tight flexors and hip flexors, it’s a recipe for a disastrous lower back. Here is the deal, many of us have forgotten how to use the gluteal complex. If the glutes are not able to contribute in the hip extension tasks of your body, this will lead to sciatic pain and low back issues. Sparing the back during hip extensor movements demands healthy integration of the gluteal muscles!

Here is few things to re-program gluteal integration to heal or avoid sciatic nerve pain  :

Glute activation over ball:

Lie prone (downward_ ) over a gym ball using the hands to balance. Posteriorly rotate the pelvis. And turn the right foot slightly while lifting right leg. Keep hips level and square. Don’t arch your lower back while lifting your leg. To help enhance activation of the glutes try different foot positions. COMPLETE 10 REPETITIONS ON EACH SIDE. Perform more reps and sets where the sciatic nerve pain s located.

 Swiss Ball:

Sitting or lying on the exercise ball creates instability, which requires spinal and abdominal muscles to contract to stabilize the body. Strengthening these muscles can reduce your sciatica pain. Because exercising with the ball promotes a neutral spine position, this can help you to maintain proper form when performing sciatica exercises.

Perturbations on a swiss ball:

Take a balance position on a swiss ball perhaps sitting, lying or even standing if you have the balance to do so.

 5-Building Spine Stability

Muscles are spine stabilizers. The way in which they contract together and stiffen will determine the amount of stability in the spine. So what are the wisest ways to challenge and train the stabilizers?

Training the stabilizers of the lumbar spine. The big three:

I have been able to select three basic forms of exercises (known as the big 3) that ensure stabilizing patterns are being developed and minimal spine loading is maintained. For example exercises such as sit ups or leg raises do not meet my criteria.

1-Curl up.

The curl up is not really a curl up at all, as little motion occurs when performed correctly. It is an outstanding exercise to begin training the spring used by many athletes, as it challenges the entire abdominal wall. Curl ups performed with poor technique, however, can be counter productive, either failing to activate rectus abdominis sufficiently or unnecessary over stressing the spine.

2-The side bridge:

Injured people benefit  with this exercise. Because spine loads are minimized as one side of the torso musculature has much lower activation. Stabilizing patterns are ensured as long as the bridge patterns are maintained. The many facilitation techniques enable all of the  neuromuscular compartments of the obliques to be challenged. All three layers of the abdominal wall are activated, together with the rectus, to optimize performance. Important stabilizers such as the quadratus lumburum are also trained. The abdominal spring is “tuned” with torso in a neutral position.

 3- Bird dog.

This is the type of exercise which will allow you to spare the spine muscles of high compressive loads and ensure stable patterns of muscle activity. It challenges both; lumbar and thoracic portions of the longissimus, illiocostalis. and multifidi with minimal spine loading.

Poor form for the birddog includes “hip hiking” or any other configuration that causes deviation (twist, flexion or lateral bending) to the spine, also all motion should take place at the hip and shoulders joints. There should be no motion on the spine.

 Sciatic pain could make you infallible and dejected. Try these exercises and food and drop me a note when feeling better.

To your health!