Sciatica Pain Doctor In New Jersey Recommends 4 Lifestyle Improvements to Cope with Sciatica

Watch your posture

If you are reading this while sitting in your office, chances are this is your posture at the moment: shoulders bent forward, neck stretched in front, and little to no lumbar support. You probably know this is not a comfortable position, yet you keep doing it anyway.

The average American spends 10-11 hours a day sitting. This can lead to a series of health issues, including back pain, increased risk of heart conditions, and even psychological stress. What causes all this?

The human body was designed to stand, walk, and perform activities while in an upright position, which makes sitting an unnatural posture that can put pressure on your sciatic nerve. For a short period, this won’t be an issue, but the repercussions of spending countless hours a day in front of a computer, on the couch, or at a desk can be very serious.

Sure, if you work an office job, you may not have a way to avoid sitting during work hours, but there are some adjustments you can make to prevent sciatica pain. Keep an eye on your posture, avoid slouching, and take frequent standing or moving breaks.

Quit smoking

We don’t need to tell you smoking can affect many parts of your body, including the lungs, stomach, heart, throat, teeth, and skin. If these are not good enough reasons to stop smoking, you may change your mind when you find out cigarettes can seriously harm your back as well.

Nicotine accelerates the deterioration of the spinal discs, increasing the risk for degenerative disc disease, which can cause sciatic discomfort. This substance also decreases blood flow, preventing proper circulation to the spine. This will not happen immediately, but it will increase the need for surgical treatments over time.

Even if you choose not to quit smoking and end up requiring surgery to address the pain, your doctor will still advise you to stop smoking in the weeks leading up to the procedure since nicotine raises blood pressure and hinders your body’s healing processes.

Start working out

Being physically active is beneficial in general, but it is essential if you deal with sciatica. For starters, regular exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, which is essential for preventing herniated discs. Obesity, according to research, can erode the outer fibres in the back portion of the spinal discs, increasing the likelihood of back pain.

In addition to keeping your weight under control, working out can also strengthen the muscles in the back to provide better support for the spine and reduce pain.

However, consider the fact that certain exercises or routines can put too much pressure on the back, especially if you are already dealing with sciatic pain. Lifting weights is just one example of an activity that, if not done correctly, can end up hurting your back more than strengthening it. Also, with the sciatic nerve being the longest nerve in the body, there is an increased chance of pinching or stressing it while performing certain exercises.

Ask for the doctor’s recommendation as to which exercises are safe to perform in your condition, but chances are they will recommend walking, light aerobics, and jogging. If you are able you can also go swimming or cycling.

Avoid stress

Most treatment strategies primarily address the physical source of back pain, as external factors are usually the ones to blame for the pain. Although poor posture, an accident, or a chair that offers poor back support are the most common causes of sciatica, stress can also have a significant influence on your back.

If you ever observed your body when you are stressed, you’ve probably observed how it can affect you – muscles tensed up, clenched jaw, and a lot of pressure on your shoulders. Living under continual stress has an influence on both the mind and the spine, becoming a contributing cause to back pain.

Reducing stressful situations will benefit both your health and your mind, so try using mediation, yoga, breathing methods, or counselling to help you deal with the problem from the inside out.

In most cases, implementing these simple lifestyle changes can relieve common symptoms of sciatica and keep them from recurring. However, if the discomfort persists or increases, you should book an appointment with a board-certified sciatica pain doctor in New Jersey and find out what your treatment options are. Book an appointment in Paramus on Route 17, near the Paramus Park Mall, in Clifton, NJ, on Route 46 E, past the Ford dealership, in West Orange, near the Essex Country Club, and in Woodland Park clinic, on McBride Avenue, right next to Woodland Park Dialysis Center.