Video Transcript: Learn Nerve Glide Exercises to Alleviate Back Pain and Sciatica Pt. 2

Hi! Dr. Orit Hickman here from Pain Science Physical Therapy.

And, I wanted to show you four exercises that I really think are great for the treatment of nerve pain and/or back pain. So, sciatica, leg pain, these are great. Now, one of my previous videos shows you these exercises laying down, but it’s not always easy to do that in the middle of the day. And, a lot of us have to sit for activities, being on the computer, our jobs. And, that can be where leg pain a back pain can get really, really painful. So, I thought I would show you a modification of those four exercises in sitting. 

So, I’m going to do it up here on the mat table so you can see this, but when you do these exercises, you do want to have your feet planted on the floor. And, the movements are really gentle. They are meant to increase movement and blood flow for nerves, which they really like. So, nerves typically do not like to be stretched for any period of time. It makes them more cranky. So, if you’re experiencing low back pain while sitting or leg pain while sitting, you don’t want to stretch the nerves because it will make the pain increase. In the moment, it might feel okay, but, as time goes on, it’ll get more and more sensitive. 

So, the first exercise is sitting with your feet (imagine my feet planted on the floor,) and you’re just going to rock your knees side to side. It’s a very gentle movement. You want to do about five or ten repetitions, and that’s really it. So, it’s a good way to start. And, you don’t want to be twisting your trunk. It’s just rocking your hips a little bit side to side. So, that’s the first exercise.

For the second exercise, if you have leg pain down one leg, you may or may not want to do this on that leg if it’s too sensitive. So, if I have leg pain on my right leg, I might choose to do these exercises on my left leg. It still gets blood and movement into the nerves on the right leg, but it’s less irritable to those nerves. And, once you feel better, you could try doing them on that affected side. So, the second exercise is just holding up under the knee and gently bringing the knee a little bit up to the chest. You don’t want to try to really crank it up there. You’re not trying to get all that movement. It’s just for a little bit of blood flow. A little bit of nerve gliding is what we call it. So, you do about five or ten repetitions of that one. 

Now, for the next exercise, it’s really about bringing the knee a little bit across the body. And, it’s ⁠— I find it’s easier, easiest if you can just cross the foot over the other thigh and just gently pull the knee up towards the opposite shoulder. If that’s not comfortable for whatever reason, then you can, from the same position as the last exercise, just gently bring the knee across the body. And, you can use your arms. You can use a towel or a strap, whatever feels comfortable. So, that’s the third exercise, and you do about five or ten repetitions of that one.

And then, the last exercise is just a leg swing. You want to keep the foot relaxed. And, you’re just going to straighten, bend, and straighten the left leg, which is the one I’m gliding right now. Do about five to ten repetitions just like that. 

And, those are really, really simple exercises. I really love them. I think they are very, very effective for helping with nerve pain and back pain when you’re sitting. 

Hope they work. Let me know how it goes. Feel free to click the like button below if you think this was helpful and leave me any comments. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks. Have a good one!