As we all know our body is full of nerves. The sciatic nerve is the largest one. It stretches from our lower back, passes in our buttocks and ends in the lower limb.
A symptom which irritates or compresses can affect the sciatic nerve. It is named as Sciatica. A narrowed spinal canal, a herniated disc, a degenerative disc disease, etc can also affect this nerve.
This pain weakens or numbs the area as it has a sharpening pain. The pain can be occurred in their heel, foot, in the calf, in the back of their thigh, etc. They also feel pins and needles in their buttock and lower back with this pain.
People try many ways to relieve pain. But, the massage using a tennis ball is the most successful way. This can relieve the tension as well as the muscle pain as it combines reflexology, acupressure, and massage. This therapy can heal the symptoms of sciatica and the pain in the lower back according to researchers. You can also improve your complete range of motion.
You can push the nerve towards the tendons by using a tennis ball to perform this treatment. This is the main reason for leg and buttock pain.
This allow to pressure on the trigger points found in the muscle. And you can improve the blood circulation and the mobility in the area and the tension becomes relieved too. This kind of massage also will help you against ‘Latissimus dorsi’ pain and back pain.
If your main target is the piriformis muscle, you can relieve sciatica. And you need to target them if you want to treat other problem areas in your spinal cord. The tennis ball should be as far as it can from it if you have problems with a pinched nerve.
This is how the massage looks like:
You need to lie on the floor or sit on it and keep the tennis ball under the painful muscles. Try to shift the weight on the ball. You can trigger the actual point, if the tenderness is increased in some specific areas.
Apply pressure on the painful spot for 15 seconds. If there is another painful spot, apply pressure on it too. Roll the ball where the pain is with gentle movements. If you have intense pain, use several balls. Direct pressure will be eliminated. You should prevent nerve or muscle damage by stopping the massage if there’s any sharp pain.
These are some additional tips to help you alleviate sciatic pain:
- You also can try cold and heat therapy too. Any harp pain or inflammation can be healed with ice packs or heating pads.
- Try some pain-management techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, guided imagery, meditation, breathing exercises, etc.
- Stretch your hamstrings by doing different stretching exercises or low-impact aerobic exercises.
- Visit your doctor and ask for painkillers or medicines that can calm your symptoms down if you feel very intense pain.
There are numerous underlying conditions that trigger sciatica. Try to find a specialist that will advise you to use other treatments like epidural steroid injections, chiropractic manipulation, etc if you don’t feel any improvement with the help of these tips.