sciatic pain (?) and swimming

Is it a good idea to swim if your lower back is pinching in sacro-iliac joint area on one side? Swimming is my mental health! But right now I can hardly bend forward, to right, or to left. Will be assessed by PT, but wondering whether anyone has had good experience swimming through back pain, or if this is likely to do me in. Generally I do core strengthening, shoulder strengthening, lots of onland exercises, but for some reason this pinchy pain hath appeared. Advice before I see PT? I NEED TO SWIM. Gracias. Isobel Isobel..I suffer from back spasms and have issues with my lowerback. I tend to find swimming helps.. Don't go too hard, maybe don't flip turn but just moving around in the water tends to help. I normally just try to swim in whatever way doesn't hurt....yes it may look funny for a day or two. Try taking anti-inflammatory like Aleve beforehand and if you use any heat pads ice down afterwards.

Sciatica responds to different things, depending. But certainly get in the pool, knowing your goal today is not a vigorous workout* but pain relief and regaining physiological health. Sometimes I just hang from the side of the pool, maybe add a few gentle side-to-side motions. Hanging from doors - get feet off ground, let gravity stretch out spine -can help during the acute episode. A pillow between the knees at night may help. The best thing for me turned out to be a moderate exercise class with some of everything: bit of step, bit of hand weights, bit of abs, bit of running, tiny hurdles, couple of yoga stretches. *Opinions here differ as well. Some advocate a vigorous run. Hope you feel better! VB

I have chronic disc problems.I almost always feel better and have less symptoms after a swim.If anything causes discomfort don't do it.You also probably will need to be very slow and careful on turns and push offs.

try working for a wile with the frog kick only - preferably on your back you might also try sleeping on your back while placing a pillow under your tailbone hope it feels better soon.....

I have piriformis pain that is triggered by long drives. Swimming helps me a lot. I've found that kicking on my back with fins helps stretch the whole area very effectively. There is a current thread that has links to some good information: forums.usms.org/showthread.php I found this link to be particularly helpful. www.kalindra.com/rounds.pdf (for exercises for the SI joint which may be why the sciatic is being "kicked") It shows you ways to realign your pelvis so that sciatic/piriformis impingement is minimized. I tried the recommendations this week and it's been really helpful (and easy).

Make sure you're not swimming with your back arched. (I see a lot of people doing this.) As in, lifting your head out of the water all the time to look forward. Keep your neck straight on your spine, relaxed and looking down, and if you need to look forward, just make it a quick glance when your recovering arm is just starting to come forward out of the water.

Make sure you're not swimming with your back arched. (I see a lot of people doing this.) As in, lifting your head out of the water all the time to look forward. Keep your neck straight on your spine, relaxed and looking down, and if you need to look forward, just make it a quick glance when your recovering arm is just starting to come forward out of the water. That is one of my biggest pet peeves! Sometimes, in particularly painful looking cases, I just want to take them aside and say "stop looking at the wall-you are hurting your neck and back"!