It’s not uncommon to feel a twinge of pain in the back when you sit down after a long day of standing or walking. But if this pain becomes chronic, sciatica may be the culprit. Irritation of the sciatic nerve causes sciatica, which runs through your back, buttocks, and legs. Various causes of back pain can affect the sciatic nerve, such as poor posture or sitting too long, resulting in searing pain.
Fortunately, there are ways to treat sciatica without resorting to medication or surgery! In addition to stretching and strengthening muscles around your spine and pelvis area, posture correction may help relieve discomfort from sciatica-related symptoms like anterior pelvic tilt (APT).
What is anterior pelvic tilt?
Anterior pelvic tilt is also commonly called an “over-arched” or “hyper-lordotic” spine. You’ll know you have anterior pelvic tilt when your hips tilt forward, causing your butt to stick out of the back of your pants. If you’re having difficulty identifying it, look in a mirror or take a picture of yourself from behind. Your lower back will probably be arched inward, your shoulders leaning forward, and your head jutting forward even more so than usual.
If left untreated, this posture can cause tension in the hip flexors—the muscles that pull on the front side of our legs when we walk—which leads to pain in the hips and lower back. It also destabilizes shoulders by putting them into excessive extension. It can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome if left unchecked over time.
What happens when you have anterior pelvic tilt?
When you have anterior pelvic tilt, your hips are rotated forward, and the top of your pelvis is tipped forward. This puts pressure on the lower part of your spine. In turn, this can irritate or compress nerves and muscles in the lower back region, which leads to sciatica pain down the legs.
It’s also common for those with anterior pelvic tilt to experience other hip or knee problems because their knees constantly move outwards due to being tilted forward. This can result in tightness around these joints, making it harder for them to move when needed (like during exercise).
What causes anterior pelvic tilt?
Poor posture:
Poor posture can lead to an anterior pelvic tilt, as it causes a loss of mobility in the spine. When we slouch, our pelvis moves forward, causing us to stand with a swayback and poor muscle balance. This creates a vicious cycle that leads to more slouching, which can cause pain and injury in the lower back and hips.
Weak core muscles:
The core muscles provide stability and a full range of motion throughout your body (think about how they work together when you’re running). Suppose your core isn’t strong enough to consistently provide this support. In that case, other areas may have trouble compensating—such as your hip flexors or glutes—and become overworked from doing what they weren’t designed for. Weakness or immobility in any part of this system can cause pain anywhere along its pathway.
Inactive lifestyle:
Keeping your muscles strong will prevent them from constantly being challenged beyond their limits daily. For example, if you sit at a desk all day and don’t move much between breaks, then every time you stand up, tension will be built up in the same areas you use the most (e.g., your legs). Squats and lunges are not necessarily the best exercises to strengthen these areas directly since they can cause undue stress to joints like the knees and hips.
Over time, this may eventually lead to arthritis after years of accumulation, decreasing overall mobility since strength and flexibility play a role in this process.
What is sciatica?
Sciatica refers to pain that radiates down the leg and is caused by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve in your lower back, extending down each leg. This nerve supplies sensation to all parts of the legs and feet, including the ankle, sole, and toes. If you have sciatica, you may feel pain in the lower back or buttocks that travels down one or both legs to your foot. For example: if you have left-sided sciatica, it will start at your lower back/buttocks on the left side only (or vice versa).
What causes sciatica?
Sciatica is often caused by a herniated disc. A herniated disc occurs when the outer layer ruptures and pushes against the spinal cord, causing pain and discomfort in your lower back and legs. Sciatica can also be caused by spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) or arthritis in the spine.
A less common cause of sciatica is piriformis syndrome, which happens when your piriformis muscle spasms and irritates your sciatic nerve as it passes through its tender area behind your hip bone. While rarer than other causes of sciatica, piriformis syndrome can also cause pain in either leg at any level from just below the knee down to both feet. It may also cause numbness so that you can’t feel anything below your knee(s).
Spinal tumors are another possibility for people experiencing milder forms of sciatica symptoms. The symptoms, however, tend to be more severe, such as paralysis and incontinence problems, along with increased weakness over time, despite rest periods between episodes. The compression effect on nerve roots located around/near tumor sites is the primary cause of this type of pain syndrome!
As we’ve discussed, sciatica is caused by a herniated disc. It’s also possible that sitting with an anterior pelvic tilt causes your herniated disc to become irritated and inflamed, which will cause symptoms of sciatica. So one way that anterior pelvic tilt and sciatica are related is that they can both be caused by excess pressure on the spine. Anterior pelvic tilt can, however, cause more than just sciatica. It can also lead to back, hip, and knee pain.
How to treat sciatica?
- Stretch the back. Your spine has a complicated system of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that help it move in all directions. This system can get out of balance if you don’t keep it strong with regular stretching exercises.
- Strengthen the stomach muscles. Your pelvic muscles support your lower back and are part of a larger group called core stabilizers, including your abdominals and hips. Standing straight or bending over to tie shoes requires these groups to work together to provide stability to your spine.
- Avoid sitting at work or home for long periods—especially with crossed legs! Crossing your legs when sitting compresses blood flow in one direction along an already-compromised pathway through the pelvis, worsening spasm episodes when they happen. Sit on a stool with both feet flat on the floor rather than crossing them.
This position allows more room for proper movement of tissues running through anterior pelvic tilt without triggering sciatica-related symptoms. It may feel uncomfortable if you are used to sitting differently because of your sciatica pain (or previous injuries).
Start by only doing so after meals when digestion helps things feel better in general—and then gradually build up tolerance until you can do it without feeling pain.
Strengthen your stomach muscles and stretch your back
Stabilize your posture by strengthening your stomach muscles and stretching your back.
Stomach exercises: These can be done daily at home by lying on your back and lifting your legs up at a 90-degree angle. Try not to lift so high that you strain your lower back, but make sure each side gets a good stretch. Do this for 30 seconds per side, three times per day.
Back stretches: There are many types of back stretches. Try doing some gentle yoga poses that focus on strengthening and stretching the muscles in your body’s core or spine. Try using a foam roller or yoga ball to start with gentle stretching if this is your first time doing it. A professional trainer can also guide you through these exercises so that they become routine habits.
Sciatica and anterior pelvic tilt can be uncomfortable, but they don’t have to be permanent. Suppose you’re experiencing any back pain. In that case, it’s worth visiting a chiropractor or physical therapist who can help you find relief. Additionally, these professionals will work to restore proper alignment in your body, helping you prevent future problems by addressing their root causes today.
