Suffering from nerve pain? Two simple moves to ease the strain

It can literally be a pain in the backside to suffer from continuous sciatic pain. The piriformis is a small group of muscles located deep in your hips that tends to become tight from long periods of sitting down, or over-compensate due to weakness in other muscles.

As a result, the sciatic nerve can become compressed, often leading to burning pain and numbness on one side of your derriere and down the back of your leg. Myofascial release (self-massage) and stretches can take the pressure off the nerve, which helps release tension and ease pain. The routine below can be done three times a week.

Myofascial release

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- locate the bottom of the glutes, near the pelvic bone
- sit on the lacrosse ball, or if this is extremely tender use a tennis ball
- keep your knees bent and feet flat on the floor
- lean your torso back and keep your hands on the floor
- breathe deeply into each tender spot
- continue rolling the ball sideways for 60-90 seconds
- switch sides

90/90 hip stretch

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- sit on the floor and place the right leg at a 90-degree angle directly in front of you, with the knee flat on the ground
- do the same with the left leg behind you, making sure your knee is directly in line with your hip
- place your right hand on the floor, with your palm facing away from you (this will prevent you from slouching)
- place your left hand on the right ankle
- keeping your back straight, slowly bring your chest toward your knee
- this stretch can be performed several times for 30-60 seconds on each side

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