My sciatica disappears when I ride a bicycle and gets worse when I sit.Any ideas what is going on?
I think most exercise which doesn't involve impact on your back, or twisting, is often beneficial. I use a cross-trainer. My pain happens when sitting or standing still so its become second nature to keep mobile. If I want to watch a play or film I lay on the sofa, when I drive I use a memory foam cushion for a bit of relief. If you have any tips I'm sure the other forum members would be pleased to hear, I' m glad that your cycling is turning out good for you.
Movement is the key.I tried standing on the bus yesterday to avoid sitting down.There were many spare seats and I made people very uncomfortable.Why was I standing over them when seats were available?And I still got pain.I will give the cross trainer a try once I Google it to find out what it is.Many thanks.
It probably gets worse when you sit because your spine and discs are compressed in that position. On a bike, you round your back therefore the disc space is bigger and your spine and discs are not compressed :-). Mel
If you want to exercise I'd advise sticking with the bike. Try the cross trainer but if it doesn't work don't push the issue. You stand up on a cross trainer which causes less disc space and it might ache but in the sitting position, your body weight is on your spine so the cross trainer might be ok rather that doing any seated exercise (like weights etc).
Oh sorry, I meant to say, because you move your arms back and forth on a cross trainer make sure you don't twist accidentally, plus legs going back and forth. It the best of a bad bunch other than the bike for exercise but it depends what your underlying issue is. Good luck!!
That does make a lot of sense.I was trying to think what happened when you rode a bike and the curving of the back would open up space for the nerve.Very helpful.Thank you.