Sciatica is a type of low back pain along the sciatic nerves, which run from your lower back into your legs. When irritated or compressed, these nerves may cause immense pain that extends down your leg to your foot. You may also experience numbness, a burning sensation, weakness, and other uncomfortable sciatica symptoms that make working painfully difficult. The nagging pain can be disruptive, distracting, and inconvenient when trying to complete a full workday.
Conservative treatment can help address sciatica nerve pain. Therefore, making simple changes to your daily work routine can make a huge difference. Sciatica specialists at NJ Spine & Orthopedic can help you find some simple ways to experience sciatica relief at work.
1. Take a Break and Stand
Unfortunately, most jobs involve sitting for long periods. This can lead to various health issues and pain. Typically, prolonged sitting places more pressure on the sciatic nerve, aggravating the pain. To lessen these symptoms, take frequent breaks and move regularly. Consider a sit-stand desk, which makes it easy to transition from sitting to standing.
Another good tip is to get up and take breaks after every thirty minutes or so of sitting. This will help improve your spine and back health and alienate sciatica symptoms.
2. Practice Good Posture
Poor sitting postures may also contribute to or worsen sciatica symptoms. Slouching, slumping, and other types of poor posture will shift your weight and add stress to your spine, triggering sciatic pain. Therefore, be mindful of your posture and do your best to sit up straight. A good sitting position stabilizes your spine and keeps the pressure off your sciatic nerve.
Create a sciatica-friendly computer workstation and readjust your posture to avoid leaning forward, which may aggravate your sciatica nerve. Always remember that sitting too much in the same position could trigger sciatica nerve pain and other back problems.
3. Ensure You’re Comfortable
Apart from your sitting posture, comfort also helps reduce the strain on the sciatic nerve. Therefore, choose a well-designed ergonomic chair that properly supports your back to make sitting more comfortable. Consider placing a lumbar pillow at the base of your chair to help with comfort. This setting encourages a more correct sitting posture while reducing the pressure on the sciatic nerve.
Additionally, you can give yourself a tennis ball massage to ease the pain. To do this simple DIY massage, put a tennis ball between your lower back and chair. You can gently move side to side as you apply pressure on your back with the ball.
4. Use Hot or Cold Packs
Cold and hot therapies are also effective in providing sciatica relief at work. Heat packs relieve pain by increasing blood flow and warming your muscles and nerves. On the other hand, cold packs help relieve inflammation and speed up healing. Therefore, you can apply heat and ice packs on your lower back to reduce sciatic nerve pain. Ensure you wrap the pack in a material and use a barrier to protect your skin.
5. Incorporate Light Exercise
Exercise can significantly help relieve sciatica. Therefore, incorporating light exercises into your work routine can greatly help. These exercises help strengthen your back and spine while improving sciatica pain. A 10-minute walk several times a day is an excellent place to start. This may include walking up and down the stairs or around the office to reduce the painful symptoms associated with sciatica.
You can also perform regular gentle stretches and any other light exercises you can enjoy regularly. Gentleness is vital when exercising at your workplace. Therefore, avoid engaging in physical activities that cause you pain.
Consult a Sciatica Specialist at NJ Spine & Orthopedic
Sciatica symptoms can be persistent and chronic, making work a painful struggle. In most cases, the pain improves with non-surgical treatments. Unfortunately, the sciatic nerve pain may become severe and continue interfering with your day even after trying different conservative therapies. If that’s the case, you should consider consulting an orthopedic specialist at NJ Spine & Orthopedic for an in-depth diagnostic checkup.
We are a team of experienced neurologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedic specialists, and physicians ready to help you address your sciatica problem and find a solution that works for you. Don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at (866) 553-0612 if you’re still struggling with sciatica.