Sciatica is a pain in the butt, literally. Since having a baby, I feel fire dancing down my back, into my backside, and tingling in my legs whenever I turn over just a little too quickly. Far from a temporary inconvenience, this condition seems intent on sticking around: My "baby" is now almost 4 years old, and he recently had to play nurse when I suffered an attack that left me on the floor unable to move. Luckily, he managed to follow my instructions to grab the remote control, a pillow, blanket, and the phone to call Daddy.
Now that I’ve been initiated into the painful club of sciatica sufferers, I've become much more aware of just how prevalent it is: An estimated 40% of people will have sciatica pain at some point in their lives.
Now that I’ve been initiated into the painful club of sciatica sufferers, I've become much more aware of just how prevalent it is: An estimated 40% of people will have sciatica pain at some point in their lives.
What is sciatica?
The sciatic nerve is the longest single nerve in the human body, and it runs all the way from the lower back down the back of each leg, says Loren Fishman, MD, the medical director at Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and assistant clinical professor at Columbia Medical School. While anyone can develop pain along this nerve for a variety of reasons (such as a slipped disc), it's fairly common among women during and after pregnancy.
The sciatic nerve is the longest single nerve in the human body, and it runs all the way from the lower back down the back of each leg, says Loren Fishman, MD, the medical director at Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and assistant clinical professor at Columbia Medical School. While anyone can develop pain along this nerve for a variety of reasons (such as a slipped disc), it's fairly common among women during and after pregnancy.
For starters, weight gain can place pressure on the fragile nerves of the spine, says Alfred Bonati, MD, founder and chief orthopaedic surgeon at The Bonati Spine Institute. The sciatic nerve can also become irritated during childbirth itself, especially during long labors, when women experience so-called back labor, or when the baby is in an abnormal position (such as breech), according to research from the European Spine Journal. After childbirth, many moms are left with weakened back and abdominal muscles, which can lead to more pain. Poor posture and hunching—pretty common among those who are breastfeeding and cradling their baby—makes the problem even worse.
My son’s labor lasted a grueling 48 hours and involved long stretches of excruciating back labor. Once I was home, I didn’t pay too much attention to any aches and pains that I was experiencing. I was too busy taking care of my baby; plus, the pain was intermittent: I could go weeks without any symptoms, and then one day I'd bend down too quickly or move a certain way and be in agony. Sometimes I'd even end up "frozen" and unable to move without help, which was pretty frightening.
Shortly after my son's first birthday, it finally dawned on me that maybe this wasn't normal.
My son’s labor lasted a grueling 48 hours and involved long stretches of excruciating back labor. Once I was home, I didn’t pay too much attention to any aches and pains that I was experiencing. I was too busy taking care of my baby; plus, the pain was intermittent: I could go weeks without any symptoms, and then one day I'd bend down too quickly or move a certain way and be in agony. Sometimes I'd even end up "frozen" and unable to move without help, which was pretty frightening.
Shortly after my son's first birthday, it finally dawned on me that maybe this wasn't normal.
Is yoga the best Rx?
I started to research treatment options and found that the latest guidelines show pain meds aren't best for most patients with low-back pain—or at least that they shouldn't be relied upon as a first-line defense. Heat, massage, stretching, and yoga seem to do the trick for many people. Meanwhile, a study in The International Journal of Yoga found that the practice can alleviate sciatic pain, at least in the short-term.
I’ve always loved yoga and had followed a prenatal routine throughout my pregnancy, but since my son's birth I had fallen out of the habit. I decided to try a few asanas and realized that any moves that helped me stretch my back or lie flat on the floor provided immediate relief.
After practicing on my own for a while, I decided it was time to talk to an expert. Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine, who works closely with doctors to create pain management plans involving yoga, confirmed that the practice can definitely ease lower back pain and help prevent flare-ups. To that end, she suggests the following moves, which release the tense muscles along the back and down the legs. Just be careful not to push yourself too far. "Find a comfortable position and soften into the pose," says Cruikshank. "If you experience any nerve pain, back out of the pose until the pain is gone.”
I started to research treatment options and found that the latest guidelines show pain meds aren't best for most patients with low-back pain—or at least that they shouldn't be relied upon as a first-line defense. Heat, massage, stretching, and yoga seem to do the trick for many people. Meanwhile, a study in The International Journal of Yoga found that the practice can alleviate sciatic pain, at least in the short-term.
I’ve always loved yoga and had followed a prenatal routine throughout my pregnancy, but since my son's birth I had fallen out of the habit. I decided to try a few asanas and realized that any moves that helped me stretch my back or lie flat on the floor provided immediate relief.
After practicing on my own for a while, I decided it was time to talk to an expert. Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine, who works closely with doctors to create pain management plans involving yoga, confirmed that the practice can definitely ease lower back pain and help prevent flare-ups. To that end, she suggests the following moves, which release the tense muscles along the back and down the legs. Just be careful not to push yourself too far. "Find a comfortable position and soften into the pose," says Cruikshank. "If you experience any nerve pain, back out of the pose until the pain is gone.”