11 exercises to avoid with sciatica

Protecting and strengthening your back is an important part of reducing the likelihood and impact of lower back pain as well as supporting general health well-being. Exercise such as yoga can aid this.

Those with sciatica need to take care when exercising as the very process of trying to strengthen one’s back can in fact damage it further or induce further pain.

Sciatica is where the sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back to your feet, is irritated or compressed. It usually improves in four to six weeks but can persist.

It is important to note that some types of exercise are not hazardous to sciatica sufferers broadly, but that specific aspects might be, for example, yoga and Pilates. Also keep in mind that some exercises/stretches are ok, but you should be careful not to over-stretch, triggering pain. This is the balance with back strengthening and sciatic pain – exercise can help with the former, but it can hinder strength and exacerbate the latter if you suffer from it.

This article lists exercises that should be avoided by sufferers of sciatica. It also includes some activities that are good to try.

Exercises to avoid with sciatica

The list below includes stretches as well as more active exercises.

1. Leg circles

1. What it is? Exercises that demand you to swing your leg in a full circle and stretch your hamstring suddenly.
2. Why avoid this? A key point for sciatica sufferers is that while muscles can benefit from exercises such as stretching, nerves – such as the sciatic nerve - do not like to be stretched. As such, this, like many others in this list, may irritate the sciatic nerve.

2. Seated or standing hamstring stretch

1. What it is? Sitting down, stretching your leg out straight, and then reaching to touch your toes. You can also do this exercise by standing up and reaching down to touch your toes.
2. Why avoid this? When you reach for your toes, you are stretching your spinal cord, not just your hamstring. The sciatic nerve runs under the hamstrings and so it stretches the sciatic nerve as well (which is why it often feels like the hamstring itself that is causing the pain in sciatica).

3. Hurdler stretch

1. What it is? This is very similar to the seated hamstring stretch – but includes lifting your other leg up and under you (like a hurdler).
2. Why avoid this? In addition to stretching the hamstring and bending you back forwards, it twists and locks the pelvis in place before rotating your back - adding stress to the muscles and sciatic nerve.

4. Double leg lift

1. What it is? Exercises that involve lifting both legs at the same time while lying on your back.
2. Why avoid this? This exercise is design to use core muscles and, while effective at strengthening abdominal muscles and back, it can also aggravate sciatic pain. If your abdominal muscles are weak, the weight of your legs must be supported by your lower back which can put you at risk for disc herniation and sciatic pain.

5. Downward Dog

1. What it is? Starting on your hands and knees, you push yourself up onto your feet and hands – making your body form an upside-down ‘V’.
2. Why avoid this? This position puts a stretch on the hamstrings which is to be avoided.

6. Bent-over row

1. What it is? The bent-over row is a weight training exercise used for both bodybuilding and powerlifting. It involves standing bent over a barbell or dumbbells and lifting with the arms and then legs, while increasing back strength.
2. Why avoid this? It is easy to do this exercise with poor form - rounding your back – which puts you at risk from strain or injury, and in particular a herniated disc.

7. Straight-legged deadlifts

1. What it is? Similar to the bent-over row, this is an exercise used in weight-training. You bend over your barbell and lift it without bending your legs or pulling up your arms
2. Why avoid this? As well as stretching hamstrings, even a slight mistake can make a disc bulge worse.

8. Straight-legged sit-ups

1. What it is? These sit-ups must be performed with your legs straight, rather than allowing you to bend your legs and place your feet flat on the ground.
2. Why avoid this? Straight-legged sit-ups place tension on the sciatic nerve and put extra stress on the spine.

9. Heavy squats

1. What it is? This is another weight-lifting exercise where you lift a barbell off a frame and take its weight on your shoulders, taking yourself from a squatting position to standing.
2. Why avoid this? This exercise can place strain on the lower back – including compression - and increase disc pressure, exacerbating sciatica symptoms.

10. Cycling

1. What it is? Cycling can be a great form of exercise, but…
2. Why avoid this? …cycling that involves being hunched over towards the handlebars can place increased stress on your back and pull nerves that may induce sciatic pain. Cycling in an up-right position places far less stress on the back.

11. Burpees

1. What it is? Start in the push-up position, and jump up into a star-jump, before returning back down into the push-up position. And repeat.
2. Why avoid this? This repetitive exercise has two points during which the back is stretched, which can stress the back of sciatica sufferers.

Exercises for people with sciatica

So, what exercises can you do? While there are some specific exercises and sports to avoid, the most important factor is degree. You can exercise but ensure you don’t over-stretch – especially your back and legs, and in particular your hamstrings.

Long periods of sitting or inactivity can also prompt sciatic pain and impede recovery, so it is important to get exercise just right. There are a few great exercises you can enjoy that will not aggravate your sciatica keep you active.

1. Walking
2. Swimming
3. Yoga (but avoid the positions above)

As for activities such as going the gym, just ensure that you remove any actions, stations or reps that are likely to put hazardous stress and pressure on your back – or stretch your back and legs.

Employers may also find the following article valuable: An employers’ guide to tackling low back pain and musculoskeletal disorders at work

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