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The Worst Way to Fix Sciatica (DO THIS INSTEAD)

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

Sciatic nerve pain is one of the most common sources of discomfort, especially in men over 40 that lift weights. The reason why this is so common is that we do too many things that put us in position to suffer from sciatica in the first place, and then we don-t know how to fix sciatica once we have it. In this video, I-m going to show you why foam rolling and smashing the piriformis muscle with a lacrosse ball is the worst thing you can do to fix sciatica. To start, it is important to differentiate true sciatic nerve pain from something that looks like sciatic nerve pain. If the source of your pain is from a bulging or herniated lumbar disk, then the stretches shown in this video are not going to fix your problem. In fact, you will want to make an appointment to be seen by a licensed physical therapist to help you treat your disc herniation another way. On the other hand, if your sciatic nerve like symptoms are arising from the compression of the sciatic nerve from a tight piriformis, then you will want to pay close attention to what I am showing you here. Firstly, the nerve itself can get compressed by having a tight piriformis muscle. Because this muscle lies directly over the nerve as it exists the pelvis, there is a tendency for this muscle to compress the structure when it is tight. Lately, we have been told by many that the best way to fix a tight muscle is to not stretch it but rather foam roll it or use a lacrosse ball on it to smash it. In this case, that is the worst advice you can be given. The lack of tissue thickness in this region (made worse by having weak or underdeveloped glutes) leads to a high probability that while attempting to ease the tension in the piriformis that you will be further compressing the nerve itself and causing more pain. Even a foam roller does not adequately fix this problem since you will still be compressing the area, albeit with the force dispersed a little bit more evenly across the muscle than with the lacrosse ball. Either way, the treatment approach is not correct. The best way to fix your sciatic nerve pain is to gently stretch the piriformis, but to make sure and do it consistently! 3-4 times per day for 5-6 days a week is a great start. Hold each stretch for 45 seconds to a minutes and make sure not to round your lower back in order to keep the focus on your hips. Place the tight hip in front of you with your knee and hip bent to 90 degrees and lean forward without losing the slight arch in your lower back. You should feel an incredible relief without ever having to start cranking on the stretch or bearing through much discomfort when doing. It-s the same approach of doing the most you can do without doing more than your body can recover from, that has the ATHLEAN-X Training System creating loyal followers and great results every day. You can get the program at and start training like an athlete now
Date: 2022-04-22

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Comments and reviews: 10

Ninami
Wow Jeff I'm so happy that you exist. I've had issues for WEEKS now and I did everything WRONG. I've looked at so many stretches and none of them seemed to stretch -the right way- and it seemed to get worse every day even though I did those stretches (that was probably why. After only ONE stretch from this I got immediate relief. I follow your workout plans and I follow everything you do. If you ever release a -How to live your life- I would follow it blindly, thank you so much.
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sport
This makes a lot of sense, thank you for sharing this info. I've been foam rolling for a while because I played lacrosse ironically, so I had to stretch somehow, but this helps me understand why foam rolling and the lacrosse ball doesn't help but make the pain worse, because it has in my case. where doing these things gave me a few minutes of relief but no further results. I will give these stretches a go and comment later my results -
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Marco
Jeff, I wanted to THANK you. I had sciatica for several years. It was ruining my life! It wasn-t a disk issue, and the doctors had no clue how to fix it. I had multiple steroid shots into my L4/L5 and it would always come back. I watched this video. It felt good. I started doing these stretches multiple times throughout the day and the pain went away. Two years of pain, gone in a couple of months!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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heyblindmouse
I-ve been living with what I thought was scoliosis pain for years. Went to physical therapy, had back injections, debilitating pain when I walked. Searched YT for desperate help after taking a 800mg pain killer and I was still in pain, in bed.
I did this stretch once, in bed, no lie desperate tears in my eyes. And it felt amazing. And then I laid back and the pain melted away. This stretch is fking legit, yall
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Niek
The strange thing is my piriformis seems to have better stretch than on my other leg wich doesn't hurt. If I do the stretch i dont even feel the piriformis muscle stretching, same with other similar stretches. My stronger leg (wich doesn't hurt) seems to have a much more tight piriformis. The self massaging with a foam roller or a ball does seem to help on the other hand. I instantly feel a difference.
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Matty
I had a very bad lower back injury, which kept me off work for a week. I did this video, the -how to fix low back pain- and i also did the -Do This EVERY Day NO More Low Back Pain (30 SECS)-, which for me is the best one. all 3 videos are ATHLEAN-X. They really helped alot. Be careful not to overdo it to start with, especially if you have an injury or have just recovered. Start slowly and build it up.
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Edward
I sprained my back 2 days after heavily using leg press machine. At first the pain was everywhere on the lower back but settled to right piriformis. I'm not going to claim this stretch instantly cured me, but the pain relief was noticeable within an hour. After 3 stretching sessions, two hours apart, I feel much better. I believe this stretch is the key to a full recovery, thank you so much.
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sport
Have had pain from butt down one leg for a week, quite noticeable but bearable. Pain became excruciating yesterday and could barely hobble. Woke up today unable to sit or stand without pain and feeling of weakness. This stretch brought instant relief. I can stand again and take steps without hobbling. I'm not at all fully fixed, but this has helped. I can actually sit down and type this.
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Pallana
I just signed up for PT I can-t take it any longer. And yes I use a tennis ball or a golf ball he-ll even a Wine bottle anything I could roll on that nerve and put pressure on it it seem like I-d get some relief for a few hours too but it was so Damn painful. I even lay on the floor on my stomach and I have my kids stand on my buttocks right where that nerve is I have a tens unit too
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mike
I found out about piriformis syndrome and this stretch from a different video a year ago. I was having pains in my left leg so bad that I couldn't walk unassisted and sometimes couldn't get out of bed. After a few weeks of consistent stretching the pain is gone. Occasionally it will flair up and I'll have to stretch again for a few days but it goes away. Changed my life.
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