Symptoms of sciatic nerves causing irritation? Treat with these fun hobbies!

_{^{Hobbies and sciatica.}}

Symptoms of sciatic nerves causing pain are not normally treated with hobbies! But I’d like you to consider that having the right hobby, pastime or interest could have a positive effect on not only how your sciatica feels but also how you feel about your sciatica. For instance, I play acoustic guitar. Will practicing and playing acoustic guitar make your sciatica less painful? Probably not. Will practicing and playing acoustic guitar divert some of your attention away from your sciatic pain for an hour or so? You bet! It takes a lot of mental energy, focus and attention to practice and play guitar. So that’s a lot of mental energy, focus and attention being diverted away from thinking about your sciatic pain.

_{^{Acute or chronic sciatica, everyone is different!}}

Some of these recommendations are going to be more or less suitable depending on whether you have acute or chronic sciatica. I’ll presume you have chronic sciatica as acute is normally a short term issue, doubtful you’d be looking for hobbies you can do for the 3 or so weeks you have acute sciatica!

Also it depends on what triggers, aggravates, flares up, eases or soothes your sciatica. Everyone is different. For me standing and walking was the main trigger to bring on the excruciating pain I used to feel. Sitting down was a godsend. For other sciatica sufferers sitting down is very painful. Some of it will depend on why you have sciatica. Having sciatica due to a herniated disc may have different aggravating factors then having sciatica brought on by piriformis syndrome.

_{^{How can hobbies help with symptoms of sciatic nerve pain?}}

By diverting your attention away from your pain its intensity will feel less, er, intense!
Depending on your triggers, standing or sitting to perform your hobby will likely bring some relief from your pain.
Some hobbies or pastimes are a great stress reliever leading to reduced muscle tension.
Some of the hobbies listed below, for instance juggling, require physical movements that aid recovery and healing, more on this later.
Gardening, walking (see my blog “walking makes my sciatica worse”) and more physical hobbies provide a great way to keep fit and boost your psychological outlook leading to increased motivation to beat your sciatica.

_{^{What’s the best hobby to help with my sciatica?}}

Have a good think about stuff you like to do but also give consideration to the triggers that upset your sciatica, if standing aggravates it then hill walking may not be the best idea! If sitting is a pain in the butt then go for a predominantly standing pastime. Many hobbies can be practiced standing or sitting down. Guitar, piano, painting and drawing etc could all be carried out either way with the right equipment, easel, guitar strap, height adjustable desk etc.

_{^{Physical movements can help sciatica.}}

Damaged, worn or poorly functioning vertebral discs can be a major contributor to sciatic pain. Our discs are made of a tough jelly like substance that contains a hydrating synovial fluid that serves as a shock absorber to protect the spine and aid its correct function and movement. As we move, twist, bend and sway it causes the discs to squash, squeeze and expand. This “squeezing and expanding” aides a process called imbibition which forces out some of the old nutrient deficient fluid and enables fresh nutrient rich fluid to be sucked in.

Another great benefit from the more “moving” hobbies (think gardening rather than painting) is maintaining and improving flexibility, range of motion and joint function. I’ve got a great example of this. A few years ago I went to a physiotherapist about a bad back. One of the things he told me to avoid was forward bending. Forward bending is when you bend your back at your waist to pick something up off the floor, a coin for instance, with your legs straight. He encouraged me to keep my back straight and instead bend my knees to lower myself nearer to the ground, keep my back straight and pick up the item that way, sounds sensible right?

Unfortunately what used to happen was I avoided forward bending so much that once every couple of months or so I’d forget about not forward bending and quickly bend forward to retrieve an item and “AHH” my back would go again! I’m convinced the reason for this was my back was just not used to forward bending anymore and so it jarred it and I ended up with another visit to the physiotherapist. This happened 3 or 4 times over a year or so.

After the 4th time I decided in future instead of avoiding forward bending I’d do it but I’d bend forward slowly, with purpose, awareness and care. I’d take a second or two to prepare and ready my back for action. I also started doing a few gentle toe touch stretches while waiting for the kettle to boil etc. Basically, I didn’t avoid forward bending, what I did was I prepared, practiced and rehearsed my back for forward bending, so when the need came for me to forward bend my back was ready, willing and able!

If you consider juggling as a possible hobby imagine how much stooping, bending and flexing you’re going to be doing picking up items off the floor! This isn’t a negative. All this moving etc is helping with the imbibition of synovial fluid and helping with your flexibility, range of motion and joint care. Juggling is also a great workout, it’s like walking for the arms!

_{^{Are hobbies really going to make a big difference to my sciatic pain?}}

I’ve written before on this website about how little changes can make a big difference to your recovery. You can read about it here – how small changes can cure your sciatica. The gist of it is is that if you have chronic sciatica it’s doubtful one thing is going to cure it. You need a few different strategies, coping mechanisms, treatments and exercises to alleviate some of the discomfort so you can begin to get on top of managing your pain.

_{^{Here then are our top hobby recommendations to treat symptoms of sciatic nerves pain.}}

Learn piano. Can be practiced sitting or standing. Great for diverting some of your attention away from your pain.
Learn guitar. Same benefits as piano. Get a guitar strap to learn standing up.
Painting or drawing. If that’s too much to learn there’s some cool mindful colouring books that have come out over the past few years.
Gardening. A great one to help with flexibility and fitness. There’re some specific tools to help back pain sufferers so search for long handled items or stools to help with posture etc.
Walking. This used to be a real struggle for me but with a daily intake of CBD Oil (see my blog sciatica and CBD) and some other coping mechanisms I can usually manage a few miles no problem (see “walking makes my sciatica worse”).
Meditation. A great one for pain management and focusing your attention away from your sciatica. Also great for relieving stress.
Yoga or Pilates. Again great for stress relief and also flexibility.
Cycling – not mountain biking! Great for fitness, getting fresh air and a change of scene. Electric Bikes (with the option of a boost from onboard batteries) seem very popular to help on hills!
Juggling. Great for focusing attention away from sciatica and improving fitness – juggling uses the same number of calories as walking!
Contact Juggling. A variation on the traditional way of juggling with not so much throwing but probably just as much picking up! Great for flexibility and disc recovery and rehydration (imbibition).

_{^{And here’s a few more products that can help you with your new pastime.}}

Click on the product photos on the article above or the photos below to go to the relevant page on Amazon. Don’t worry, you pay the same price you’d pay if you’d gone straight to Amazon direct.

If you have symptoms of sciatic nerves causing pain and found something that helps it would be great if you would share your tips with us. Please get in touch through the contact page.

Be sure to check out the other natural at home sciatica cures and treatments page.

Please share this page with your friends.