sciatic Nerve Tensioners/Gliders
If you have sciatica, this is one intervention we do to help relieve some of that sensitivity you get in your lower back or down your leg.
The idea with this exercise is to “tension” the sciatica nerve to hopefully improve mobility and reduce how sensitive the nerve is.
With my hip at 90 degrees, what I’m doing is these kicks up and pointing my toes back towards the wall behind me (see video). What this is doing is putting tension on that nerve, stretching it slightly at both ends (spinal cord and nerve).
When we give this to patients that have sciatica or lower back pain, one key thing to keep in mind is keeping the overall dosing (how much your doing) low.
Sometimes, this type of “tensioner” can be provoking on the sciatic nerve.
A Good Place To Start:
- 1-2 sets of 10-15
Keep the amount of times per day you perform this exercise low as well – most patients start off with 1x/day!
At Peak Pursuit Performance and Rehab, we offer both in person physical therapy services in Salt Lake City, Utah and online remote consultations for those outside the city. If you are looking for help with your hip pain, back pain, or sciatica, give us a call at (801) 215-9087.
