Sciatica is a relatively common medical condition nowadays and can be stressful to work with. It is often associated with low back pain, which makes driving difficult.
You can find this condition in individuals who need to work while sitting for a long time or are in a driving position for too long. This results in a stressful condition if you keep sitting and even if you change positions alternately.
You can get relief from the pain if you obtain knowledge of the best sitting position for sciatica. If you can follow these correct sitting positions, you can easily get rid of your pain and continue to work.
What Is Sciatica?
Sciatica can be termed as a condition that arises due to irritation of the sciatic nerve. You may be familiar with the sciatic nerve, an important nerve of your body that supplies sensation to the lower part of your body. When this nerve is compressed by pressure or any injury, sciatica occurs.
This causes pain in the lower back and can also spread to the buttocks, hips, and down one leg. The pain usually affects a single leg and tends to worsen during sitting and coughing.
It is a painful condition, and if you can follow the right sitting position for sciatica, you can get relief and comfort.
Symptoms of Sciatica
Different signs and symptoms can be observed with sciatica. These symptoms can help you identify if your problem is related to sciatic nerve compression or any other condition. A few of these essential symptoms are:
- Constant and steady pain in the affected leg or one side of the buttock or hip.
- Discomfort in walking or even standing up from a sitting position associated with unbearable pain.
- Numbness or tingling sensation in the affected leg.
- Pain in the affected leg, hip, or lower back after sitting for a long time.
- Lower back or leg pain during forward-bending.
All these symptoms imply that if you keep sitting incorrectly, the pain in your leg and lower back will increase. It is imperative to learn about the proper sitting position for sciatica to find some comfort.
Sitting Positions for Sciatica
If you’re an office worker or someone who has to sit or drive for too long, you can’t quit sitting and have to continue working that way. If you can follow the correct techniques to continue working while sitting with sciatica, you can do with ease.
It gets painful if you continue to sit for hours at a stretch. So, you can try standing up and walking for a bit to relax your back muscles for a while. Apart from that, you can follow these correct sitting positions-
Using the Right Support
When it comes to maintaining a correct sitting position, the right support is essential. The most important asset, in this case, is using the appropriate chair. Since you’ll be using this chair for a reasonably long time, make sure that the chair is well-built and sturdy.
The chair should be comfortable enough to balance with workplace efficiency. An ideal example of comfortable and efficient chairs is the recliner chairs. Recliner chairs are one of the most effective chairs for sciatica patients as they support the lower back and help in soothing the symptoms.
Other support systems include using lumbar pillows and rolled-up towels for your lower back pain. Rolled-up towels provide comfort and ease the pain while lumbar pillows maintain a uniform posture during sitting.
Sitting Postures
When it comes to sitting postures, trying out a bunch of positions randomly might not alleviate the pain and increase it. So, make sure you follow these positions during working-
Knee Position
Position your knees and hips at a 45° angle and place your toes at a flat space. Elevate your knees if you find it painful to keep sitting at a stretch. If you elevate your knees at a 45° angle and keep them elevated, it decreases the pressure on the spine.
So, there is less strain on the back, and your leg pain can simultaneously decrease.
Sitting up Straight
Try to sit up straight along the chair to give the maximum support to the buttocks and back. By doing this, there is no gap between your back and chair, and your hips, buttock, and lower back remain stable.
On the other hand, if you sit up front instead of sitting back, there is forward bending of the spine. So, your lower back, buttocks, and hips are placed at an uncomfortable angle, increasing your back pain more than before.
So, sitting up straight alongside the chair is a vital position for sciatica.
Standing up
No matter what sitting arrangement you try, it will be of no help if you sit on the same chair at a stretch. Standing up once a while is one of the best remedies for sciatica.
So, once in every 20-30 minutes, stand up for a few minutes and stretch your body muscles. Take a short walk around the work place-it can be just a walk down the corridors, a quick pace around your desk, or even to grab a cup of coffee.
This is the most practical step in your work routine to relax those sore muscles of the back and lower back some rest.
What to Avoid
While there are so many do’s to follow when trying out sitting arrangements for sciatica, there are a few don’ts as well.
An important warning is to refrain from crossing your legs during sitting. This can cause leg and hip pain to increase. It is also important that you keep away from leaning on one side. Relying on one side augments the pressure on that side and causes leg pain to increase many folds.
Keep all your necessary items alongside your desk to avoid forward bending as much as you can. Forward bending increases the pressure on your spine, repeatedly causing your symptoms to deteriorate.
If you’re used to turning sideways while sitting in a chair, it is better to get a chair with wheels rather than turning your body sideways. Bending and twisting your body during sitting destabilizes your lower back and hip’s position. So, your back hurts more, and the condition may worsen.
Following these certain sitting positions can help you get relief from the pain of sciatica and make your work life more comfortable. You should also follow the constraints to stop harming your spine and worsening the condition.
If you can maintain these positions, you can easily take care of your lower back and avoid harming the spine.
Conclusion
Summing it up, it can be said that sciatica is a painful condition, and it can be very tough for those who spend half their day working while sitting.
But with the best sitting position for sciatica, you can work comfortably without having much pain. Maintaining the correct postures and avoiding wrong sitting arrangements can ultimately make your journey with sciatica easy.
Find out more information by visiting SittingRex