Top Sciatica Stretches With a Broomstick for Quick Relief!
My favorite exercises to address sciatica with a broomstick target the hips, lower back, and pelvis, while mobilizing nerves and incorporating some soft tissue rolling.
You don’t have to have an arsenal of exercise equipment in order to get some relief from your pain. Everyone, or almost everyone, should have a broomstick at home to try these simple exercises.
While there is, no one size fits all especially when it comes to back pain, here are some great movements you can try to get a little bit of relief in your day.
They also can leave you feeling pretty amazing even if you don’t have any back pain. Our muscles and nerves love to move and get some extra oxygen. These six exercises, target all of that and more.
Now, some think they have piriformis syndrome which feels similar to sciatica but is also very different. This may be useful to figure it out!
Hip Internal Rotation Stretching
- Sit on a surface high enough to have your knees bent and feet dangling.
- Place the broomstick on the outside of your thigh, angling it behind your leg and towards the inside of your foot.
- Use your arms to move your lower leg out to the side, away from your body for up to a minute.
Nerve Tensioner at the Ankle
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- Lay on your back with the broomstick supporting one knee at a 90° angle like our hands above.
- Straighten out your knee and keep it straight (or as close as you can get).
- Alternate pushing your ankle up and down like you’re pushing a gas pedal.
Nerve Tensioner at the Knee
- Lay on your back with the broomstick supporting one knee at a 90° angle like our hands above.
- Pull your ankle/toes up towards your head and keep them like that.
- Alternate straightening your knee and bending your knee while keeping your ankle/toes in the above described position.
For more detailed exercises and nerve glides check out this FREE PDF I created specifically on sciatica.
Nerve Flossing at Knee and Ankle
- Lay on your back with the broomstick supporting knee 90° angle. We’re going to buddy up two motions for this.
- When your knee is bent, pull your toes back towards your head (gas pedal off).
- When your knee is straight, point your toes up to the sky (gas pedal on).
Foam Roller Substitution on Hamstrings, Calf, Thigh, and Glutes for Sciatica
- For your hamstrings, sit in a chair and push the broomstick into the meaty part of the back of your thigh like in this image. Move the broomstick up and down the length of your thigh
2. For your calf, move the broomstick down to the same area as in this photo and repeat.
- For your thigh, repeat the process as above in seated while targeting the outer portion of your thigh (pictured above) along with the middle and inside portion.
- Lastly, target the glutes by standing and holding the broomstick behind your hips in each hand and angle it to massage the back and sides of each glute in the same area as above.
SI/Pelvis Engagement
- Lay on your back with both knees bent to 90 degrees.
- Lace the broomstick between your legs so it is behind one knee and in front of the other.
- Using your hands to hold the broomstick still, engage your leg muscles to pull up against the broomstick on the front side while also pushing down against the broomstick on the back side.
Can You Use a Broomstick to Relieve Sciatica Pain?
Yes, there are helpful exercises for sciatica that you can complete with a broomstick such as hip stretches, neural mobility work, SI engagement exercises, and soft tissue work that can help to relieve sciatica pain.
Our bodies love to move, so anything you can use to promote this is helpful! These exercises are a great place to start if you’re looking to DIY some pain relief on your own. If you’re done with the DIY and you need some hands on, reach out to, a physical therapist near you for an in person assessment of your body.
How Do I Loosen Up My Sciatic Nerve?
You can make your sciatic nerve feel “looser“ by mobilizing the nerve in the track that it lives in.
We often call this neural mobilization, nerve flossing, or neural tensioners, depending on who you’re talking to and what the goal is. The over-arching idea is that nerves, love, blood, space, and movement.
If you can find a way to give your nerves blood, space, and movement even when you’re in pain, your nerve becomes happier and your pain becomes less.
Moving around our daily life does this to an extent. Our body makes us feel uncomfortable if were in the same position for too long to motivate us to do just that, MOVE! Exercise is huge for helping our nerves and bodies to feel more "loose" as well. Exercise challenges us outside of the realm of our daily life, whether that is from different positions, resistance, endurance, etc.
Sometimes, we need extra help to get those nerves moving in more specific ways which is where the neural tensioners and neural flossing examples above come into play. Our nerves are all connected from the base of our brains to the tips of our toes. When one part of the system is moved or tensioned, it is relayed through the rest of the system.
Other Tips For Quick Relief From Sciatica Pain
We have an entire YouTube channel dedicated to people just like you along with numerous other tips such as tips for core strengthening with lower back pain, in depth foam rolling for sciatica, and distinguishing between spinal stenosis and sciatica.
We understand that back pain in general can be a trying road to travel. We're here to remind you that you don't have to travel it alone. If you’re looking for more hands-on help, reach out to us and be the first to know when we have additional openings in our sciatica course!
Our goal at Revision Health Services is to give you all the tools we possibly can to help you live the best most active life with as little pain as possible. Let us know if you have any questions. We’d love to see how we can help you more.
