So, let’s talk about feet
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I have a client with Sciatic nerve issues. He has a shooting pain going from the left glute all the way down his leg, and it happens even if he just stands or sits for too long. There is no escaping it.
Unless…
We found the root of the problem. and it has to do with his feet, hamstrings, quads, core, and abductors. Sciatica is caused by various reasons, but the gist of it is that the blood flow is restricted, and the tightness around the sciatic nerve is causing pressure, which causes pain.
A lot of people deal with chronic sciatica. And I mean A LOT. Doctors will give you pain pills (his did) and many tactics prove to be nill in the face of it. So what should you do?
It’s a composition of 6 months. First, you assess the checklist:
– Tight hamstrings? yes
– Weak core? yes
– Over-Pronation in the feet? yes
– Valgus knee? yes
– Anterior pelvic tilt? yes
– Weak or elongated Gluteus Medius? yes
– Over-active quads? yes
and then you begin the countermeasures.
Before doing anything we need to look at the relationship between the adductors and abductors and see if they are balanced. Normally with sciatica, the knees will cave in (valgus) during any squatting position causing the over-activation of the quads and weakened glute complex (including the gluteus Medius) So stability training is needed for the first month.
From the very beginning, creating an abdominal workout that teaches the client to shut off the hip flexors (to prevent quad dominance and hip flexor dominance) is paramount to the success of relieving sciatic pain by helping balance the antagonist and protagonist relationship between the anterior and posterior core muscles, as well as adding to the muscle building signal to increase anabolism.
Strengthening stability in the hips will balance out the relationship between the add/abductors, increasing the rate of anabolism and working in tandem with core development. You can do this through balance exercises and mobility testing with weight.
Now that the client is accustomed to the importance of stability and mobility, move to the feet. A lot of professionals would start here, but the signal for muscle change in just the ankles is too small for anabolism and the process will take 3x longer. Piling everything together at once also heightens the risk fo the client getting overwhelmed and making mistakes (we want to be able to let them do this on their own)
Checking where the talus bone lies in the foot, where the toes point, where the knees point, and how high their medial arches are at rest when standing – is the first step to showing the client what the goal is. Make sure that you notice an overpronation (if it’s there) and do exercises to correct that while continuing the stability training on separate days. I say separate because we want a clear goal for each day, and 100% effort and focus toward each goal at a time.
The corrective exercise needed for fixing overpronation also aligns the knee and hip, so the stability training will complement the process, compounding the speed of the results.
Next teach the client how to properly fire the glutes during a squat and deadlift, aligning the femur with the hip-to-toe line, and canceling out the over-dominant use of the quads.
Adding in a light Sumo and Traditional Romanian Deadlift will help lengthen the hamstrings and isometrically increase strength in the transverse abdominis.
Foam rolling facia during this entire process will help considerably when it comes to immediate pain, but it is not a permanent solution.
As the posture changes in the client, continuously check for the reduction of lordosis and the alignment of the lower body. Pain should reduce (it has for my client) as the process goes on by the first month. The above-mentioned is a true process of about 6 or more months. None can be rushed. and some have to be done every day for it to work.
If you are in pain with sciatica problems, please, let me know.
