Sciatica – 5 Tips To Get Better Sleep

Losing sleep at night because of a sciatica problem can be miserable and infuriating, especially for those that have to wake up the next day grumpy, groggy and have to deal with people that just don’t quite get how much pain they are in. I’m going to cover with you today the top five tips for getting better sleep at night for people that are suffering from sciatica.

My name is Dr. David and I’m a specialist physical therapist over at El Paso Manual Physical Therapy. I’ve been helping people with sciatica problems for years now. Our specialty is helping people stay active, healthy and mobile while avoiding unnecessary surgeries, injections and painkillers.

Let me get into the top five tips for you.

Tip Number One: Get Pillows Under Your Lower Legs And Knees.

What I mean by this is get your feet elevated, get your knees elevated from the level of the bed. You might need to squeeze two, three or more pillows under your legs, or get very thick pillows. Get your legs into an L position with your feet up, so that you take pressure off your back and put some slack on the sciatic nerve.

Sleeping like this might take some getting used to at the very beginning, but because it does take tension off the sciatic nerve, for most people, it can be a very comfortable position to get into at night, so they can avoid taking pain medications, and get a restful night of sleep.

Tip Number Two: Lie On A Firm Surface.

Now you probably have heard of people that go lie down on the floor and that’s the only way they can get relief for a static a problem or a back problem in some cases. And there is some truth behind this. What happens is, most people suffering from a sciatica problem typically are too curved in their lower back. Lying down on the floor allows that curve to flatten out a bit, versus lying on the bed that with the cushion to the bed allows for the curve to occur.

A lot of times that curve needs to flatten out. A good medium, to avoid having to lie down the floor, is to get an exercise pad. I don’t mean like a yoga mat, I mean something a little bit more substantial, and thick that you can unravel. Another alternative is a camping mat like a pad that you would use to sleep on when camping.

You would put that on top of your bed to create a firmer surface to lie on. You can combine this with the pillow advice where you get your legs up and put some slack on your nerves.

Tip Number Three: Using Ice And Or Heat Before Going To Bed

Now this one just takes a little bit of foresight and planning but using some ice and or heat before going to bed can allow you to fall asleep a bit easier. Now I say use ice or heat because for some people, ice tends to work better for them. But for others it might not, it may flare them up and they would prefer heat. And that’s fine. You can use heat. The science the medical field is undecided on which one is best. As far as I’m concerned, and what I tell my clients is to find out what works best for you.

Then a third alternative is to use alternating ice and heat in order to get the relief that you’re looking for. Ultimately, what you’re trying to do is avoid having to take pain medications to go to sleep at night, by using ice or heat or a combination of the two.

Tip Number Four: Get A Little Bit Of A Rocking Exercise Before Going To Bed.

The best exercise to get immediate relief from sciatica – it’s only going to be temporary. It’s the first step of many to relieve the sciatica problem for good. The first step is to get on all fours on your hands and knees. You can do this on your bed or on the floor. And from your hands and knees sit back like a dog or a cat sitting on his haunches.

Slowly rock back and forth controlling the motion. Do this for about two to three minutes. You can do it for more than that, but typically two to three minutes is enough to get the effect that you are looking for. After that you can go lie on your bed and see if you can get a little more comfortable going to sleep.

Tip Number Five: Get Expert Help.

The quickest way to overcome the sciatica problem so that you can get better sleep at night is to get expert help. Somebody like a specialist physical therapist, who’s often treated sciatica problems successfully without surgery, without medications or injections is going to be the best type of healthcare professional to solve your specific sciatica problem.

There are many causes to sciatica and unraveling the problem that each individual has, is truly a process that takes expertise. I strongly encourage you to seek help so that you can get back to sleeping as fast as possible and in dealing with this problem longer than you need to.

If you’re interested in hiring us to help you with your sciatica problem, hit the cost and availability button up in the menu bar. Once that form loads, type in all your details and we’ll reach out to you as fast as possible to discuss with you the cost and availability for sciatica treatments at our clinic.

In over 9 out of 10 cases it is possible to cure this sciatica problem for the long term without having to rely on surgery, medications or injections. I hope to be a part of your success story really soon. Have a great day.