Hi, everyone. I'm Natalie, and today I'm going to talk to you guys about two different walking tips for piriformis syndrome. My patients often ask me, if they have piriformis syndrome, how much should they be walking and if they should be walking. If you're somebody who walking helps relieve your symptoms, I'd encourage you to walk as much as possible. You can go for multiple long walks if you enjoy that, or do multiple short walks throughout the day.
If you're somebody who walking doesn't relieve your symptoms, but it also does not worsen them, I would encourage you to continue to walk as much as you can tolerate. You might do better with multiple short walks throughout the day, but all of that is important to help keep you moving. If you're somebody who walking consistently worsens your symptoms, I recommend to do shorter, small walking breaks throughout the day, even as short as 30 seconds to a minute, or trying a recumbent bike, as this might be more comfortable.
Walking can be a really important part of recovering from sciatic pain or piriformis syndrome pain and can help improve back mobility, release endorphins, and help promote your body's natural healing processes. Another thing I'd like to talk to my patients about are different tips for when you're walking and you have piriformis pain. It's important to remember to stand up tall, maintain good diaphragmatic breath, and keep your shoulders and upper back relax so that your arms can swing freely at your sides. This helps promote gentle rotation through your back and can help reduce pain and improve back mobility.
Walking is really safe to do if you have back pain, piriformis is pain, or leg pain. It's not damaging even if you have pain with it, although if your pain consistently gets worse or if you have progressive neurologic symptoms such as numbness, tingling down the legs, or sudden severe weakness, please stop and consult with your medical provider. To learn more about piriformis syndrome, please visit us at Spine-health and be sure to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this one. Thank you for watching.
