Question:
Situation: I get regular sciatic nerve pain (regular = PMS time). It is not debilitating pain, I can still walk, it doesn't hurt worse when I treadmill (so I still do) but it is annoying. It's the constant sort of annoyance, most pronounced when bending. I get very temporary partial relief from cracking my back (by sitting with one leg straight out in front of me, the other bent at the knee and then placing the opposite elbow on the outside of the bent leg and twisting slowly until it cracks, then doing the other side) (about 15 minutes of relief).

Question:
Are there any stretches that offer better/longer term relief for pressure on the nerve?

Answer:

When it's bad, what works best for me is the stretch where I lie on my back, cross one leg over the other (foot at or just below the outside of the opposite knee), keep my shoulders flat to the floor and gently twist at the waist.

Sometimes just lying on my side (sciatic-pain side up) for awhile, so those muscles can lengthen and stretch out, helps a lot. Lying on my back with my legs up so that my lower back does, too. And hot baths and ibuprofen :-)

I only had sciatic nerve pain during my 3rd pregnancy (I had four). Don't know why I only had the pain with him but glad I haven't had it since. He is 12 now. However, when I was pregnant a friend of mine who is in to wholistic healing, pressure points and kinesiology, etc., told me to stand up straight with my hands at my side, then, on the side where the pain comes from, at the point where my middle finger rests at my side (on my leg) I should rub (fairly hard). It actually is one of those rubs that hurts so good, if you know what I mean. It should be tender there. Anyway - I found that if I did this when my sciatic nerve was bothering me the pain subsided and stayed gone for quite awhile.

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