Posted 3.18.2025

Did you know that nearly 4 out of 5 people will suffer from a debilitating back pain episode at some point in their lives and that it can result in sciatica?

“Sciatica” refers to sharp pain, burning, or numbness that radiates from your lower back down your leg, often extending below the knee and into the foot. It happens when something in your lower back irritates the nerve responsible for sending signals to your leg, commonly due to pressure from a herniated or bulging disc.

What many people don’t realize is that sciatic symptoms can occur without any back pain at all. You might feel discomfort in just one area, such as your knee or foot, or experience pain running down the entire leg. No matter how your sciatica presents, there are general best practices that can help alleviate symptoms in most cases.

Here’s what you should avoid when you’re battling sciatica, as well as what to do instead:

Avoid Soft Beds

Although lying on a soft bed or couch may provide temporary relief, it can actually make your sciatica worse. Soft surfaces cause your body to sink into a slouched posture, which increases pressure on already irritated nerves. The tricky part is that you might not feel the discomfort while you're in that position. Instead, the pain often intensifies later, when you stand up, walk, or move around. Because of this delay, many people mistakenly blame their worsening sciatica on their recent activity rather than the prolonged slouched posture they were in just moments or hours earlier.

Avoid Childs Pose & Stretching Forward

Just because a stretch feels good doesn’t mean it’s beneficial, this is a common misconception about sciatica. Since sciatica is often caused by a bulging or herniated disc pressing on your nerve, it’s important to avoid movements that increase that pressure. Forward-bending stretches, like child’s pose or forward fold, create more space between your vertebrae, where your discs are located. While this stretch may provide temporary relief, it can actually make your sciatica worse in the long run. By increasing the intervertebral space, you make it easier for the discs to protrude further and irritate your nerves, unintentionally prolonging or worsening your symptoms.

Avoid Letting Your MRI Dictate Your Treatment

As mentioned earlier, sciatica is often associated with bulging discs, which can typically be confirmed through an MRI. However, here’s something you might not realize, research shows that more than 60% of people have bulging discs on their MRIs, yet many never experience back pain or sciatic symptoms. This means that while a bulging disc can contribute to sciatica, its presence alone doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have symptoms.
Why does this matter? Relying solely on MRI findings to guide your treatment can lead to unnecessary procedures or surgeries. Removing bulging disc material or fusing the spine may relieve nerve pressure temporarily, but if the root cause often a movement or mechanical issue isn’t addressed, the problem is likely to return or even affect a different part of your spine.

What You Should Do Instead!

Go For Walks

Walking is one of the best activities for relieving back pain, even though it may feel counterintuitive when you're experiencing pain down your leg. Unlike sitting, which promotes a slouched, curved posture, walking keeps you upright, which is generally beneficial for sciatica.
As you walk, pay attention to how your leg responds. Do your symptoms improve or get worse? If they worsen, stop and consult a physical therapist. However, if your leg starts feeling better, that’s a good sign that walking is helping your sciatica.

Pay Attention to Your Posture

It may seem minor, but maintaining good posture is essential when dealing with sciatica. An irritated sciatic nerve becomes highly sensitive to changes in your lower back position, especially slouched postures. Whether sitting or standing, it's important to preserve the natural S-curve of your spine as much as possible.
We often recommend to our clients to use a lumbar roll while sitting to help maintain proper posture. While posture correction alone may not completely eliminate sciatica, it can prevent symptoms from worsening and reduce the chances of recurrence once you've found relief.

Talk to a Mechanical Pain Specialist

Did you know that 70-80% of musculoskeletal pain is mechanical in nature? This includes both back pain and sciatica, which often develop from movement issues or habits that gradually lead to stiffness and mobility restrictions in the spine. These restrictions can irritate structures like nerves, triggering pain.
If your sciatica is caused by a mechanical issue, medications, procedures, or surgery will not provide a lasting solution. Instead, you’ll need to work with a mechanical pain specialist, a physical therapist, who can help correct and restore your movement patterns, giving you a long-term solution you can manage on your own.

Click HERE to Speak with a Doctor of Physical Therapy to schedule a telehealth session!