Staying active is a proven benefit for those looking for sciatica pain relief, and one of the best forms of physical activity is walking. There are a couple of simple things to try that can help you get the most of walking to help relieve sciatica pain.

Walking is a great technique, but remember to follow these two key tips to get the most out of this exercise:

Take shorter strides

If you have sciatica and you go trudging here, there, and everywhere without taking due care you’re potentially going to irritate the sciatic nerve. If you are in pain you probably think that is something you won’t do anyway, but it is definitely worth making the point. Taking shorter strides encourages you to me more mindful with each step and will reduce the stretches and pulls around the pelvis and lower back.

When you take long strides, you potentially put more forces and compression through your lumbar spine, which can cause anything from a dull and irritating ache to intense, flashing pain. It’s much more prudent for you to take slower and more considered paces to reduce spinal compression forces.

Walking is a wonderful sciatic pain relief method, but it’s important you pace yourself. Walking too far, too long, or too hard can cause more harm than good. Slowing your pace down and taking shorter strides will help you combat sciatic symptoms.

Focus on your breathing

Walking at a pace where you are able to comfortably breath in a relaxed manner is very beneficial. If you can focus on your breath this can help you to relax. Feeling more relaxed helps to reduce pain symptoms. A good measure of your pace is that you should be able to comfortably chat without losing breath. In fact a good chat with friends while walking is great therapy. Good for the soul and helps take your mind off any ailments.

Focusing on your breathing will help you to focus on the muscles around your abdomen and back that help support your spine. Just bringing awareness to the muscles in these areas helps you to engage them with positive effect.

If you can stand up straight with your shoulders back and your head held high that’s great, but if you can’t don’t worry it is more important to feel comfortable and enjoy yourself. We tend to talk about poor posture and the like but we’re all different shapes and sizes and have developed in different ways so do not get too hung up on posture.