How Massage Helps Sciatica
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica refers to pain and numbness along the sciatic nerve, which is found in your lower back and extends through your hips and glutes, and down each leg. When people experience sciatica, they usually feel it in one side of their body and can range from mild pain to severe pain. The most common and usual symptoms are numbness, tingling, or weakness in the affected side.
This pain can affect how you perform daily activities, how you work, and how you play sports. In this blog, we’re going to talk about the benefits of massage if you’re experiencing sciatica.
2 Massage Techniques That Help with Sciatica
1. Myofascial Release
For individuals dealing with sciatica, myofascial release therapy can be beneficial in working with the tense areas of your body. This massage approach involves the therapist working with the fascia – a thin layer of connective tissue that surrounds your whole body and holds your muscles and joints in place.
In this case, it can cause a tense up in your muscles and joints which contributes to pain in the lower back and leg. Through myofascial release, RMTs identify the root cause of your muscle tension and tightness. They work to release this strain, while also increasing blood circulation in the tensed area.
2. Trigger Point Therapy
Trigger point therapy focuses on your body’s trigger points – which are essentially areas of your body that are tense and tight. This tension and tightness causes pain and immobility to your body which can make you feel discomfort in doing certain movements and can affect your daily activities.
Sciatica causes muscle tension and trigger point therapy helps to focus on these areas to reduce the pain it causes. This technique is known to be one of the most effective manual therapies that have a positive outcome with individuals who experience sciatica. With targeting the tense areas of the muscles, trigger point therapy helps release this tension and stiffness.
Overall, massage techniques such as myofascial release and trigger point therapy are known to help individuals with sciatica. With these techniques, muscle relief and releasing a strain helps in restoring the ability to move freely.