Wednesday 6 February 2013

Core Strength

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I've had intermittent bouts of sciatica for 10 years now.

As a mum, it seems to go with the job - pregnancy, carrying children and lack of exercise all take their toll on the back.

And over the last few months with Christmas and the cold weather all real exercise has gone out of the window.

I am going to start gently with lots of walking.  But I know I must build up my core strength if I want to avoid those periods of being bent over with the pain

I've found myself some very simple exercise videos that I can start to work through at home.  They're all designed for beginners and most of them are specifically for people with back pain or stiffness.

First off, I have found these really, really simple 1 minute exercises for sciatica that I can do to relieve sciatic pain.  These slightly more complicated exercises will hopefully also help if I do have a sciatic attack.

I am then going to try these balancing and crunch exercises which aren't suitable when in pain but are meant for beginners.  And I will try to follow them up with this extended 15 minute work out which includes basic planks, squats and push-ups.

I've only done a few months of yoga in the past, but I really like the look of these yoga exercises from Jen Hilman which are specifically designed for sciatica and lower back pain relief.

Eventually, I hope to build up to this much more energetic 30 minute core strength workout - it is specifically for mothers who have lost their strength during pregnancy and childcare but looks like it could be great for other people as well.

Have you found great simple ways to strengthen your core and prevent back pain?

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