05 Jul Avoid and Repair Sciatic and Low Back Pain
Some say that sitting is the new smoking.
I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that a large percent of clients, friends, family in our community sit somewhere between 2-10 hours per day and report some form of low back and sciatic pain. Imagine the impact of all your upper body weight along with gravity coming down on you butt, hips and low back for hours each day.
What could go wrong?
How could this affect circulation?
Could this slowdown blood with valuable oxygen and nutrients traveling to your pelvis, legs and feet?
How about the returning CO2 and waste back up to your organs for elimination?
Have you ever woken up with a numbness in your extremities?
The numbness and tingling are warning signs that nerves, veins, arteries and muscles in your arm are going to die if you do not do something quick. This same stagnation and compression occur when we sit for long periods. Without movement the blood and nerve flow comes to a halt in our lower extremities and pelvis.
After years of car driving, sitting at desks, lounging in front of Netflix, our sciatic nerves, two of the largest nerves in our body, that originates in our lower spine and runs through our butt, along our legs, behind our knees and all the way down to the bottom of our feet gets irritated. The nerves and tissue get compressed, irritated, and begin to suffocate and die.
Sorry to sound so morbid, however, chronic back pain and sciatica are at epidemic levels in America.
Even athletes that sit in kayaks, row boards, and bikes abuse their sciatic nerves from all the sitting.
So, what can we do about it?
Stand at Your Desk. “Fully” is a certified B corporation that makes and sells healthy standing desks (click here). I have a client who set up her work station in front of a treadmill. Yes, you can chew gum and rub your belly at the same time. Even having 2-3 different types of chairs (kneeling, straddle) or shifting your position on your chair can be a game-changer.
Change Your Lifestyle. Create new routines that do not involve so much sitting. Get a new job. Cross-train with swimming, skiing, hiking, and other non-sitting, low-impact sports.
Stretch and Strengthen. Get circulation going in your low body. Just a light walk daily does wonders.
A simple Glut Activation exercise every few minutes while you’re sitting does wonders (watch this video).
The Bridge, Boat pose, and Superwoman help strengthen the back body which elongates the hip flexors. This takes the tension off of the sciatic nerves and adds muscle to cushion the nerves and protect them when we sit.
Elevate Your Legs above your heart for 15-minutes at the end of the day is quite refreshing.
Nutrition can play a big part in eliminating low back pain. When the circulation gets cut off, nutrients have a hard time getting in and cell waste has a hard time getting out. I’ve found this recipe created by Aajonus Vonderplanitz reduces pain 80-100% within 10 minutes to several hours.
Pain Formula
Ingredients:
- 1 raw egg
- 2 oz unsalted raw butter or coconut cream
- 2 oz lemon juice
- 2 oz unheated raw honey
- 3-4 Tablespoons refrigerated fresh soft bee pollen
- 1-2 oz no-salt added cheese
All ingredients should be at room temperature. If not, warm all ingredients (except cheese which you will leave out and nibble with the formula) in an 8-ounce (1/2-pint) jar, capped with the blender washer/base/blades immersed in a bowl of mildly hot water for 5-minutes. Blenderize on medium speed for 10-seconds.
This is most effective when consumed with, or shortly after, a meat meal. Eat cheese as you drink the formula. (This formula is 5-10% less effective if the cheese is not eaten.)
Emotional Release Work. Often times low back pain is a result of longer-term holding of fear or anger. I don’t know how many times a client has cried or screamed on my table and when they were complete said, “Wow! My back pain if gone.”
Get Massage to soften and elongate the psoas, quads, TFLs, adductors, peroneals, and hamstrings to increase circulation and reduce nerve compression.
Get Chiropractic Adjustments
…and get up off your booty and Dance, Dance, Dance.
If sitting is unavoidable, watch this video and we’ll show you how to adjust your sitting posture to support optimum health.
Back Pain is not something you need to live with for the rest of your life. Drugs and surgery are just band-aids. They don’t address the cause, and often make things worse.
Address the root cause and live the pain-free life that you were meant to live.
Phoenix and Avyanna
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