Wallets And Back Pain

Your wallet can cause you pain, and it has nothing to with its contents, or lack of them. If you, like most men, carry your wallet in your hip pocket, and rest your buttocks on it while sitting, you are at risk of back pain. Consider this: your wallet, when filled, is usually around an inch thick, and so, when you sit on it, one hip is raised by that amount. This causes your hips to move out of alignment prompting your pelvic muscles to compensate and, further up your spine, your shoulders cantilever the other way to balance your posture. The outcome - sciatic neuropathy, usually known as hip pocket syndrome or wallet neuropathy.

Sciatic neuropothy is a form of piriformis syndrome, defined as "a neuro-muscular chaos that occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed or if not else irritated by the piriformis muscle. This causes ache, tingling and numbness in the buttocks and along the course of the sciatic nerve. The syndrome may effect from anatomical variations in the muscle-nerve relationship, or from overuse or strain." The thick, pear-shaped piriformis muscle is the one used to extend the hip or spin it outer. It runs from the sacrum, the lower part of the pelvic bone, to the head of the femur or upper thigh bone.

Symptoms incorporate ache or numbness in the lower leg, ankle or foot. Walking, sitting and lying down can origin uncommon ache. Some people can only find relief when they rise still. Physiotherapy is prescribed to people with advanced sciatic neuropathy. As each time, preclusion is safer than cure. Hence, people who spend a extensive time sitting or driving are advised to take out their wallets from their pockets while doing so. A slight physical exercise involving stretching the back muscles also prevents instance of this distressful circumstances. Three of these exercises are described below:

1.The Psoas Major muscle, if tight, can cause lower back ache and can be stretched kneeling on one knee. Rotate the leg outward and tighten the buttock muscles on the side being stretched. Next, lean forward through the hip joint instead of the lumbar spinal column. The stretch should be felt in front of the hip that you are kneeling on. Hold for half a minute, alternate and repeat. Accomplish this exercise twice a day.

2.Lie down on your back. With both knees bent, point both your hands together under one of the legs. Gently pull it towards your chest and hold both thighs together until a stretch is felt in the buttock area. Hold for 30 seconds, alternate and repeat. Accomplish this exercise twice a day.

3.The hamstring muscles run from the pelvic bone to just lower down the backs of the knees, and are responsible for bending the knees and assisting the buttock muscles in extending the hips. If tight, these muscles can avoid sitting straight and origin substantial back ache. To stretch, lie on your back and grasp your leg behind the knee with the hip flexed to 90 degrees and the knee bent. With the toes pointed back, try to straighten the knee. Hold for 30 seconds, alternate and repeat. Complete this exercise twice a day.