Simple and Easy Program of Exercise For Sciatica Relief Part I - The Anatomy of the Program
To relieve low back pain and sciatic nerve pain, or sciatica, we must understand the muscles involved, or thought to be involved, with this pain complex.
It is important to remember that sciatica is not a diagnosis, it is a symptom of a problem that may in fact have many different causes.
In this article, we discuss the piriformis muscle, the psoas major muscle, and the biceps femoris, also known as the hamstring or leg biceps, and how to properly begin an exercise program focusing specifically on relieving sciatica.
First and foremost, we need to understand where the muscles are located and what their primary functions are.
Once we understand the location, including where the muscle originates or starts, and where it inserts or ends up, what nerves are involved, and what the muscle is responsible for doing, we can better understand what may alleviate or even eliminate the sciatica.
The piriformis muscle is a muscle originating at the sacrum and ilium, part of the pelvis and tailbone; and, it inserts at the greater trochanter of the femur, a big bony ridge surrounding and at the top of the neck of the femur or thigh bone.
The nerves affecting the piriformis muscle are part of what is called the sciatic plexus.
The piriformis is responsible for laterally rotating and abducting the thigh.
In other words, it allows you to swing your legs out and moves the thigh away from the midline, like when you open your legs.
Sciatica is often blamed on problems associated with the piriformis muscle or muscles, depending on whether the sciatic nerve pain is unilateral or bilateral, affecting one or both sides.
The psoas major originates at T-12 to L-5 and inserts at the lesser trochanter of the femur.
In other words, it spans an area from the base of the thoracic region to the base of the lumbar region of the spine, ending up at the base of the bony ridge around the neck of the femur or thigh bone.
The psoas major is responsible for hip flexion or flexing the hip.
The psoas major, along with another muscle called the iliacus, have the same insertion point at the base of the neck of the femur, or lesser trochanter, and are often referred to together as the iliopsoas.
The iliopsoas is the muscle that does most of the work when a person does a conventional sit-up.
Nerves responsible for movement of the psoas major and the iliopsoas complex are from the lumbar plexus, particularly the femoral nerve.
Finally, the biceps femoris or hamstrings have two heads, one long and one short, with the long head originating at the ischial tuberosity, an flat, almost squashed-looking area at the base of the pelvis on each side of the sacrum or tailbone responsible for muscle attachment and weight bearing, as in sitting.
The short head of the biceps femoris or hamstrings originates on the femur.
Both heads of the biceps femoris then insert or end up at the head of the fibula, the top or proximal end of the smaller of the two lower leg bones.
The nerve responsible for innervations of the long head of the biceps femoris is the tibial nerve.
The short head of the hamstring is innervated by the common fibular nerve.
Together, the long and short heads of the biceps femoris or hamstring muscles are often simply labeled as being affected or innervated by the sciatic nerve.
The leg biceps or hamstring muscles are responsible for a quite a few movements, to include: flexing the knee; laterally rotating the leg; and, extending the hip.
Consequently, when any of the muscles mentioned above are aggravated, for whatever reason, you may get sciatica-like pain.
In fact, it is sciatica! Sciatica is simply an expression of pain affecting the sciatic nerve.
However, for the purposes of this article, we have referred to sciatica as a symptom of, an expression of, a back problem.
Now that we understand something of the anatomy and function of the different muscles often associated with this often debilitating form of pain, in one expression or another, it is relatively easy to tailor an exercise program to effectively alleviate and /or eliminate the condition.
The next article will deal with the exercise program and how to implement it to begin to beat sciatica once and for all.
It is important to remember that sciatica is not a diagnosis, it is a symptom of a problem that may in fact have many different causes.
In this article, we discuss the piriformis muscle, the psoas major muscle, and the biceps femoris, also known as the hamstring or leg biceps, and how to properly begin an exercise program focusing specifically on relieving sciatica.
First and foremost, we need to understand where the muscles are located and what their primary functions are.
Once we understand the location, including where the muscle originates or starts, and where it inserts or ends up, what nerves are involved, and what the muscle is responsible for doing, we can better understand what may alleviate or even eliminate the sciatica.
The piriformis muscle is a muscle originating at the sacrum and ilium, part of the pelvis and tailbone; and, it inserts at the greater trochanter of the femur, a big bony ridge surrounding and at the top of the neck of the femur or thigh bone.
The nerves affecting the piriformis muscle are part of what is called the sciatic plexus.
The piriformis is responsible for laterally rotating and abducting the thigh.
In other words, it allows you to swing your legs out and moves the thigh away from the midline, like when you open your legs.
Sciatica is often blamed on problems associated with the piriformis muscle or muscles, depending on whether the sciatic nerve pain is unilateral or bilateral, affecting one or both sides.
The psoas major originates at T-12 to L-5 and inserts at the lesser trochanter of the femur.
In other words, it spans an area from the base of the thoracic region to the base of the lumbar region of the spine, ending up at the base of the bony ridge around the neck of the femur or thigh bone.
The psoas major is responsible for hip flexion or flexing the hip.
The psoas major, along with another muscle called the iliacus, have the same insertion point at the base of the neck of the femur, or lesser trochanter, and are often referred to together as the iliopsoas.
The iliopsoas is the muscle that does most of the work when a person does a conventional sit-up.
Nerves responsible for movement of the psoas major and the iliopsoas complex are from the lumbar plexus, particularly the femoral nerve.
Finally, the biceps femoris or hamstrings have two heads, one long and one short, with the long head originating at the ischial tuberosity, an flat, almost squashed-looking area at the base of the pelvis on each side of the sacrum or tailbone responsible for muscle attachment and weight bearing, as in sitting.
The short head of the biceps femoris or hamstrings originates on the femur.
Both heads of the biceps femoris then insert or end up at the head of the fibula, the top or proximal end of the smaller of the two lower leg bones.
The nerve responsible for innervations of the long head of the biceps femoris is the tibial nerve.
The short head of the hamstring is innervated by the common fibular nerve.
Together, the long and short heads of the biceps femoris or hamstring muscles are often simply labeled as being affected or innervated by the sciatic nerve.
The leg biceps or hamstring muscles are responsible for a quite a few movements, to include: flexing the knee; laterally rotating the leg; and, extending the hip.
Consequently, when any of the muscles mentioned above are aggravated, for whatever reason, you may get sciatica-like pain.
In fact, it is sciatica! Sciatica is simply an expression of pain affecting the sciatic nerve.
However, for the purposes of this article, we have referred to sciatica as a symptom of, an expression of, a back problem.
Now that we understand something of the anatomy and function of the different muscles often associated with this often debilitating form of pain, in one expression or another, it is relatively easy to tailor an exercise program to effectively alleviate and /or eliminate the condition.
The next article will deal with the exercise program and how to implement it to begin to beat sciatica once and for all.
