_{^{How do I get my sciatic nerve to stop hurting?}}

A few years ago I went to Disney World with my wife and two kids and I kept asking myself “how do I get my sciatic nerve to stop hurting”? Well I used this tip to quickly get relief and a little respite from my sciatic pain.

If you’ve ever been to Disney you’ll know there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of standing around and waiting. You’re waiting in line for buses, waiting to gain entry, waiting for food, rides, drinks etc. It should be known as Wait Disney not Walt Disney! Hey I just made that up!

Anyway, my sciatica was bad around this time. This was early in my sciatica experience so I hadn’t really learnt any sciatic relief remedies or tips. Other than naproxen and co-codamol, which weren’t really touching the sides, I wasn’t using any other pain relief. Looking back now it would’ve been great to have known about TENS machines, which are really handy as they’re small and discreet. Or even better, CBD oil, which I believe has made the biggest difference to my sciatica.

_{^{Stretching is great for quick natural sciatica relief.}}

One of the things that did bring me some element of relief, if only briefly, was doing stretches. When we were waiting in line I’d crouch or squat down to stretch my back out, touch my toes, raise my leg on a barrier or wall and bend forward. The good thing with stretches is that they help to decompress the joints and help to open up space to allow a bit more room for your sciatic nerve and so reduces some of the irritation and pain.

_{^{Looking like a weirdo doing sciatica stretches!}}

The only downside to this great sciatica relief tip is that (unless you stretch regularly as a daily practice) it is only temporary. Generally you’ll only experience the relief while you’re doing the stretch and for a few minutes after. Luckily though, because you are waiting in line so much at Disney, you have plenty of opportunity to do the stretches.

The other downside is that it does look a bit embarrassing if you’re out in public doing sciatica stretches! I used to “disguise” some of the stretches by pretending to be doing something else while stretching. For instance, when doing the “touching my toes” stretch I’d actually facilitate the stretch by bending over and tying the laces on my trainers. When doing the squat or crouch down stretch I’d do it while pretending to text on my phone, and leaning against a wall. This way, instead of looking like some weirdo doing sciatica stretches in the middle of Disney I looked like a guy taking the weight off his feet while answering a text!

I found stretching was so good to quickly get relief for sciatica I was doing it every chance I had. I was doing so much stretching that one day my wife turned to me and said “bloody hell, it’s like being married to a ballet dancer”!

You can see some great products for helping with stretches here on the sciatica stretches page.

“When told by my GP that nothing could be done for my sciatica I doubted anything would ever help. I now lead a pain free life”!