Sciatica Therapy With an Exercise Ball

When trying to find ways to relieve sciatica pain, many options can be found using an exercise ball, or Swiss ball. But first, understand that sciatica is not a disorder, but a set of painful symptoms that are caused by another problem. Once you know what is causing your sciatica, you can find which kinds of ball exercises will relieve the discomfort. Try all of the exercises and see which ones help the most.

Sciatica from a Herniated Disc

Typically the leg pain associated with sciatica and a herniated disc happens when the disc protrudes backwards and irritates or compresses the sciatic nerve. This causes pain down the length of the nerve, according to spine-health.com. Most patients use backwards-bending exercises or extensions to help "move" the sciatica pain up the leg and into the lower back.
Using the exercise ball, sit on the edge of the ball with feet flat on the floor. Reach back slowly, lowering your hands to touch the floor behind you. Your body will be resting on the ball in a backwards arched position. Stretch the muscles in the lower back by pushing with the legs and rolling your weight toward the hands.

Sciatica from Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is a condition that causes the nerve passageways to constrict. Usually the sciatic pain happens while walking and the only way to relieve it is to sit down. The relief exercises intended to help this kind of sciatica involve bending forward. Lie stomach-down on top of the exercise ball, supporting and balancing with your hands in front and feet behind you. In a reaching motion, stretch forward to extend the muscles in the lower back. This will help reverse the constriction the nerves. Rolling back toward the feet and gripping the floor with your toes will help in the same way. See which stretching exercise feels most natural to you and relieves the most pain.

Sciatica from Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease usually causes lower back pain, but sometimes it can press on a nerve root in the lower back that will cause sciatica. When this happens, it is sometimes possible to relieve the pain by limiting the movement of the spinal segments where the discs are. This can be done by using lumbar stabilization exercises on the exercise ball and on the floor. Lie on your back in the floor and place the exercise ball at your feet. Raise your feet to rest on top of the ball and place your palms down at your side. Using your core muscles, raise the buttocks into the air to form a "bridge" from the ball to the base of your neck. Repeat the motion over and over again, using your arms as stabilizers.

Sciatica from Isthmic Spondylolisthesis

Isthmic spondylolisthesis is a condition that occurs when one vertebrae slips onto another because of a broken piece of bone in the spinal column. This fracture usually occurs in childhood, with symptoms like sciatica sometimes showing up in adulthood. Exercise routines can help this pain, but must be experimented with to a degree. Usually a routine including flex-based exercises used to treat spinal stenosis combined with stabilization exercises used to treat degenerative disc disease will have the most success, according to spine-health.com.