Best Foam Roller Exercises for Sciatica Relief

Best Foam Roller Exercises for Sciatica Relief

The most effective target areas for foam rolling exercises for sciatica are the lateral thigh, glutes, hamstrings, and the calf.

Sciatic pain is a very common complaint among my clients. Common complaints of sciatic can include radiating pain or symptoms that extend from the buttock down the leg to increased stiffness or tightness along the back or side of the leg. By now foam rolling has become fairly ubiquitous but it remains a tried and true technique to treat a variety of aches and pains.

I frequently utilize foam rolling in my practice and appreciate that this is a technique patients can utilize on their own to provide self-relief when they are not in a session or at the clinic.

Foam Roller Exercises for Sciatica:

I love foam rolling because you can target nearly every major muscle group of the body and most importantly, it is something you can do at home without the need of a therapist! Foam rolling puts the control of your pain in your hands instead of having to be completely dependent on a provider for relief. In my clinical experience, here are 4 of the best exercises to address sciatic pain.

Lateral Thigh

The lateral, or outer, thigh is a busy area in terms of different tissues and structure that we can treat. You have the lateral quadriceps and hamstrings muscles along with a thick band of connective tissue, the iliotibial band or IT band. All these structures can be affected by sciatic pain. The following is my favorite techniques for that area.

Instructions:

1. Go on your side and support yourself on your elbow.
2. Place the foam roller perpendicular to your thigh about midway down.
3. If possible, bring your top leg over, so your foot is on the ground for support as putting all your weight on your thigh can be quite uncomfortable.
4. Using the arm and elbow that is on the ground for support and your foot, roll from just below your hip bone to just above your outer knee.
5. Focus on any spots that seem extra tight as long as the discomfort is within your tolerance.
6. Perform for about 1-2 minutes and repeat on the opposite side.

Glutes

The gluteal and outer hip muscles, especially the piriformis, can contribute to or be aggravated by sciatic pain. Performing foam rolling on these muscles can reduce perceived tightness and soreness in the buttock region and alleviate radiating symptoms you may be experiencing.

Instructions:

1. Sit on the foam roller with your legs extended in front.
2. Cross your right ankle over your left knee.
3. Gently roll from your lower back to the top of your glute on the right side.
4. Focus on tender or tight spots, holding for an additional 10 seconds or so.
5. Perform for 1-2 minutes or as long as needed and then repeat on the opposite side.

Hamstrings

Tight and stiff hamstrings can exacerbate sciatica since the sciatic nerve innervates the hamstring muscles and is in direct proximity to the sciatic nerve. This rolling technique helps decrease perceived stiffness and pain in the hamstrings and can also help improve mobility with activities such as bending over to pick something up.

Instructions:

1. Sit on the ground and place the foam roller under your hamstrings, starting at about midway.
2. Support yourself with your hands behind you and your other leg is bent with your foot on the ground.
3. Roll from the back of your knees up to your butt bone, moving slowly and intentionally.
4. Pause on any spots that you perceive to be extra tight and spend an additional 10-15 seconds in that area.
5. Perform for 1-2 minutes and then switch sides.

Calf with Active Movement

A common complaint with sciatica is increased calf tightness. This is due to the branches of the sciatic nerve that communicate with our calf muscles. Foam rolling the calf area can provide relief from the perceived tightness and discomfort in that area.

Instructions:

1. Sit on the ground with one leg fully extended and the other bent, placing the foam roller just under your lower calf of the leg that is straight.
2. Support yourself with your hands behind you, attempting to keep your chest proud and not slumping.
3. Slow and under control, pump your ankle back and forth, striving to go through as much range of motion as possible.
4. Repeat 2-3 times on each side.

Is a Foam Roller Good for Sciatic Nerve Pain?

From my clinical experience, foam rolling can be highly effective for treating sciatic nerve pain. The most important muscle groups to target with foam rolling are the lateral thigh, glutes and outer hip, hamstrings and calf muscles.

How does foam rolling help this condition? Possible mechanisms include increased local blood flow, reducing muscle tone/tightness through tactile input, and improved muscle recovery. As mentioned previously, foam rolling works best as part of a broader treatment plan that includes stretching, strengthening, and aerobic conditioning.

If foam rolling alone is not providing adequate relief for your symptoms, then it is time to consult with a rehab professional to develop a more comprehensive program.

Sometimes it can be hard to complete foam rolling due to upper body strength, so exercises such as nerve glides and lower back stretches can do well to reduce pain from sciatica

Should I Push Through Sciatic Pain?

One thing I want to impress upon you is that nerves are a very resilient structure. The odds of you doing any irreparable harm to your nerves with foam rolling approaches zero.

What are appropriate pain responses with foam rolling? One of my cardinal systems for pain is the stoplight rule. If you foam roll a muscle and there is no pain well then that is a green light, roll on! If you are rolling an area and there is discomfort but it is within tolerance and goes away within a few minutes after rolling the area, that is a yellow light. You can continue rolling but continue to listen to your body.

Now if you foam roll a body part and it is very painful and that pain continues for several minutes even after stopping, that would be considered a red light. I would leave that area alone and maybe revisit it at a later time, perhaps days or weeks later. You didn’t damage that muscle or nerve but rather it is just irritated and needs time to cool off.

Should You Foam Roll a Pinched Nerve?

The short answer is no. A “pinched nerve” is the colloquial term for a nerve that is undergoing some kind of continuous irritation or compression, whether it be from a muscle that is experiencing increased stiffness/tightness or a structural issue such as with spinal stenosis which involves bony structures of the spine applying adverse irritation to nerves.

It's worth exploring the differences between stenosis and sciatica to help you figure out what to do.

Even though we use the term “pinched nerve” that does not quite accurately reflect what is going on with the irritated nerve.

Regardless, applying direct and continuous pressure to any portion of a nerve that generates pain beyond our tolerance is generally not advisable. One thing nerves do not like is constant compression as that can cause ischemia, which is decreased blood flow, and can contribute to noxious chemicals in the local region. Generally I would not advise applying a lot of pressure directly to a “pinched” or irritable nerve.  If there is any area of a pinched nerve that is exceptionally painful and not tolerant to rolling, I find more benefit in foam rolling the regions above and below that more painful area.

What Size Foam Roller for Sciatica?

What will do the most good for the most amount of people is a high density foam roller in a standard cylindrical shape that is in the ball park of 18 inches in length.

When it comes to foam rollers, there are many different shapes, sizes, designs and densities so it can be overwhelming to decide on which foam roller is best for you. Thankfully, many of the fads and trends of foam rolling have faded and left us with tried and true designs.

Here is a Discount Code for the foam roller I use! 

Density

From clinical experience, using a high density cylindrical foam roller is where I would start. A foam roller with some give can make the experience a little more enjoyable. Some want a harder foam roller for it's perceived benefit but everyone is unique and some may respond better to a lower density foam roller.

Length

Foam rollers also come in different lengths with 12, 18, 24 and 36 inches being common sizes. From personal and clinical use, I find 18 inches to be the sweet spot in terms of being able to cover any big muscle group and still being portable. If you know that your foam roller will never leave your house and have ample space to store your roller, going for 36 inch roller could be a good option.

Bells and Whistles

Some other designs include knobs, bumps or more aggressive design elements. Speaking from personal experience, I do not recommend those as your first foam roller. If you have been using the standard foam roller I recommended for a length of time and you want to try experimenting, then at that point you could try a roller with knobs, bumps or other design elements that try to get deeper penetration into the muscle tissue. There just isn’t any robust research that supports that suggests these foam rollers are any more superior to the standard cylindrical design.

Final Thoughts

Foam rolling is a valuable technique for the management of sciatic pain and symptoms. Start with the 4 rolling techniques outlined in this post while adhering to the appropriate pain responses and I bet you will see relief!

On its own, foam rolling probably won’t eliminate your sciatic pain for the long-term but when combined with a comprehensive plan from a rehab professional, you can see long-term relief. Sciatic pain can be very stubborn and self-limiting but having some tools in your back pocket puts you in control of this condition.

‍