I KNOW EXACTLY HOW FRUSTRATING IT IS TO WAKE UP, FEEL THAT SHARP, ELECTRIC ZING DOWN YOUR LEG, AND WONDER WHY THE "SAFE" STRETCHES YOUR DOCTOR GAVE YOU AREN'T WORKING!! YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD TO "STAY ACTIVE" AND "DO YOUR PT," BUT EVERY TIME YOU TRY, YOUR BACK TIGHTENS UP AND THAT PAIN IN YOUR GLUTE GETS WORSE!! IT FEELS LIKE A TOTAL TRAP!! IF YOU ARE TIRED OF BEING A PRISONER TO YOUR OWN BODY, YOU NEED TO REALIZE THAT THE PROBLEM MIGHT NOT BE YOUR LACK OF EFFORT — IT IS THE FACT THAT THE EXERCISES YOU THINK ARE "SAFE" ARE ACTUALLY FUELING THE FIRE!!
MY CLIENTS COME TO ME ALL THE TIME AFTER MONTHS — OR EVEN YEARS — OF TRYING EVERY TRADITIONAL THERAPY UNDER THE SUN!! DEAN VOLK, MPT, IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE LEADING SCIATICA RELIEF EXPERTS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND I HAVE HELPED 5,200+ CLIENTS SINCE STARTING MY ONLINE BUSINESS BY SHOWING THEM A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT THEIR PAIN!! THE TRUTH IS, IF YOUR BODY IS OUT OF BALANCE, EVEN THE "BEST" EXERCISES WILL KEEP YOU STUCK IN A PAIN CYCLE!!
HERE ARE THE 7 CRITICAL MISTAKES YOU ARE LIKELY MAKING RIGHT NOW THAT ARE KEEPING YOUR SCIATICA FLARING!!
- STRETCHING THE HAMSTRING ON THE PAINFUL SIDE
THIS IS THE BIGGEST "SAFE" EXERCISE TRAP OF ALL TIME!! ALMOST EVERYONE WITH SCIATICA AUTOMATICALLY REACHES FOR THEIR TOES OR PROPS THEIR LEG UP ON A CHAIR TO STRETCH THAT TIGHT HAMSTRING!! IT FEELS LIKE IT SHOULD HELP, BUT IF YOU HAVE AN IRRITATED SCIATIC NERVE, YOU ARE LITERALLY PULLING ON A FRYING WIRE!! THE NERVE IS ALREADY STRETCHED TO ITS LIMIT BY INFLAMMATION OR COMPRESSION!! WHEN YOU PULL ON IT FURTHER, THE NERVE PROTECTS ITSELF BY TIGHTENING EVEN MORE!!
IF YOU WANT LASTING RELIEF, YOU MUST STOP AGGRAVATING THE NERVE!! I ALWAYS TELL MY CLIENTS IN THE SCIATICA PROOF LAB THAT WE HAVE TO STOP THE INSULT BEFORE WE CAN START THE HEALING!! BY STRETCHING THE PAINFUL SIDE, YOU ARE TELLING YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM TO STAY ON HIGH ALERT!! THIS IS WHY YOUR PAIN OFTEN FEELS "LOOSE" FOR FIVE MINUTES AND THEN COMES BACK TWICE AS HARD AN HOUR LATER!!
- IGNORING BODY IMBALANCES BEFORE STRENGTHENING
MOST PEOPLE TRY TO JUMP STRAIGHT INTO "STRENGTHENING THEIR CORE" BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY WERE TOLD TO DO!! BUT IF YOUR BODY IS LEANING TO ONE SIDE OR YOUR PELVIS IS TILTED (WHICH IT PROBABLY IS IF YOU HAVE BEEN IN PAIN FOR MORE THAN A WEEK), YOU ARE STRENGTHENING A DISFUNCTION!! THIS IS LIKE TRYING TO ALIGN THE TIRES ON A CAR WHEN THE FRAME IS BENT!! IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!!
MY PROVEN 3-STEP SYSTEM STARTS WITH ONE GOAL: BALANCE OUT IMBALANCES!! UNTIL YOU ARE REBALANCED, ANY STRENGTHENING EXERCISE YOU DO WILL LIKELY OVERLOAD THE SIDE THAT IS ALREADY HURTING!! WE HAVE TO GET THE BODY LEVEL AND SYMMETRICAL FIRST!! ONCE WE ACHIEVE THAT BALANCE, STEP 2 IS TO STABILIZE IN THAT NEWLY BALANCED POSITION!! IF YOU SKIP STEP 1, YOU ARE JUST BUILDING STRENGTH ON TOP OF A BROKEN FOUNDATION!!
- PERFORMING TRADITIONAL SIT-UPS OR CRUNCHES
YOU THINK YOU ARE BUILDING A "STRONG CORE" TO PROTECT YOUR BACK, BUT YOU ARE ACTUALLY CRUSHING YOUR DISCS!! EVERY TIME YOU DO A CRUNCH OR A SIT-UP, YOU ARE ROUNDING YOUR SPINE AND CREATING MASSIVE COMPRESSION IN THE LUMBAR REGION!! THIS REPETITIVE FLEXION CAN PUSH DISC MATERIAL FURTHER BACK TOWARD THE NERVE ROOTS!!
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A BULGING OR HERNIATED DISC, THIS IS LITERALLY THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO!! IT IS FOREIGN TO MOST PEOPLE, BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO "CRUNCH" TO HAVE A STRONG BACK!! YOU NEED STABILITY, NOT REPETITIVE CRUNCHING!! MY CLIENTS LEARN HOW TO ENGAGE THEIR CORE WITHOUT IRRITATING THE NERVE BY FOCUSING ON NEUTRAL SPINE POSITIONS ONCE THEY ARE PROPERLY BALANCED!!
- BENDING FORWARD TO "LOOSEN UP" THE BACK
DO YOU WAKE UP STIFF AND IMMEDIATELY BEND OVER TO TOUCH YOUR TOES?? STOP!! RIGHT!! NOW!! I KNOW IT FEELS LIKE THE MUSCLES ARE TIGHT AND NEED TO BE STRETCHED, BUT THAT TIGHTNESS IS OFTEN A PROTECTIVE SPASM FROM YOUR BRAIN!! WHEN YOU BEND FORWARD, YOU ARE INCREASING THE PRESSURE ON THE FRONT OF YOUR DISCS, WHICH CAN CAUSE MORE NERVE IRRITATION!!
IT IS A TOTAL NO-BRAINER ONCE YOU SEE THE MECHANICS, BUT MOST TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS STILL HAVE PEOPLE DOING FORWARD FOLDS!! INSTEAD OF FORCING THE RANGE OF MOTION, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHY THE BRAIN IS LOCKING THE MUSCLES DOWN IN THE FIRST PLACE!! USUALLY, IT IS BECAUSE THE BODY FEELS UNSTABLE DUE TO AN IMBALANCE!! ONCE WE FIX THE BALANCE, THE TIGHTNESS VANISHES WITHOUT YOU EVER HAVING TO TOUCH YOUR TOES!!
- RELYING ON GENERIC PHYSICAL THERAPY HANDOUTS
IF YOU HAVE A FOLDER FULL OF PRINTED EXERCISES THAT LOOK THE SAME AS EVERY OTHER PERSON IN THE WAITING ROOM, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!! SCIATICA IS NOT A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL CONDITION!! WHAT WORKS FOR A STENOSIS PATIENT MIGHT RUIN A DISC PATIENT!! GENERIC EXERCISES DON'T ACCOUNT FOR YOUR SPECIFIC BODY LEAN, YOUR UNIQUE MOVEMENT PATTERN, OR HOW YOU RESPOND IN REAL-TIME!!
IN THE SCIATICA PROOF LAB, I PROVIDE A 3-DAY SERIES OF 1:1 ZOOM SESSIONS (30 MINUTES EACH) WHERE I MANUALLY GUIDE YOU THROUGH MOVEMENTS!! THIS IS HIGHLY PERSONALIZED COACHING!! I LISTEN TO YOUR FRUSTRATIONS AND WATCH HOW YOU MOVE!! WE DON'T DO "HANDOUTS." WE DO WHAT YOUR BODY NEEDS IN THAT EXACT MOMENT TO FIND THE "OFF SWITCH" FOR YOUR PAIN!!
- POWERING THROUGH THE PAIN
WE HAVE ALL HEARD "NO PAIN, NO GAIN," BUT WHEN IT COMES TO SCIATICA, THAT MOTTO IS DANGEROUS!! NERVE PAIN IS NOT LIKE MUSCLE SORENESS!! IF AN EXERCISE CAUSES AN INCREASE IN TINGLING, NUMBNESS, OR THAT BURNING SENSATION DOWN THE LEG, YOUR BODY IS GIVING YOU A RED LIGHT!!
IF YOU KEEP PUSHING, YOU ARE CAUSING NERVE DAMAGE AND PROLONGING YOUR RECOVERY TIME!! I TEACH MY CLIENTS TO LOOK FOR "PERIPHERALIZATION" (PAIN MOVING FURTHER DOWN THE LEG) VS "CENTRALIZATION" (PAIN MOVING UP TOWARD THE BACK)!! WE ONLY COMMIT TO MOVEMENTS THAT THE BODY RESPONDS TO POSITIVELY!! IF YOUR BODY DOES NOT RESPOND WELL TO A CERTAIN MOVE, WE DON'T DO IT — PERIOD!!
- DOING TOO MUCH, TOO SOON
ONCE PEOPLE FEEL A TINY BIT OF RELIEF, THEY OFTEN GET EXCITED AND TRY TO RETURN TO THE GYM OR GO FOR A 3-MILE WALK IMMEDIATELY!! THIS IS A HUGE MISTAKE!! STEP 3 OF MY SYSTEM IS TO RETURN TO NORMAL SLOWLY AND WISELY!! IF YOU JUMP BACK INTO HIGH-IMPACT MOVEMENTS LIKE RUNNING OR HEAVY SQUATS BEFORE YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM IS STABILIZED, YOU WILL FLAMEOUT!!
YOU HAVE TO EARN THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO NORMAL ACTIVITY!! WE DO THIS BY GRADUALLY INCREASING LOAD AND INTENSITY ONLY AFTER WE HAVE PROVEN THAT THE BODY IS STAYING BALANCED UNDER STRESS!! THIS IS HOW WE ENSURE THAT ONCE THE PAIN IS GONE, IT STAYS GONE FOR GOOD!!
YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, "DEAN, IF I CAN'T DO THESE 'SAFE' EXERCISES, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO??" THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE, BUT IT IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE!! YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR UNIQUE BALANCING MOVEMENT!! FOR MANY OF MY CLIENTS, THE SECRET IS ACTUALLY STRETCHING THE "WRONG" SIDE — THE HEALTHY SIDE — TO RESET THE PELVIS AND TAKE PRESSURE OFF THE SCIATIC NERVE!!
I WANT TO SHOW YOU EXACTLY HOW THIS WORKS FOR YOUR SPECIFIC CASE!! I INVITE YOU TO JOIN THE 3-DAY SCIATICA PROOF LAB!! THIS IS A COMPLETELY FREE 3-DAY EXPERIENCE WHERE WE JUMP ON ZOOM TOGETHER AND I PERSONALLY COACH YOU!! NO MORE GUESSING!! NO MORE GENERIC HANDOUTS!! WE WILL FIND THE MOVEMENTS THAT ACTUALLY WORK FOR YOU SO YOU CAN FINALLY STOP LIVING IN FEAR OF THE NEXT FLARE-UP!!
IF YOU ARE READY TO GO FROM COUCH PRISONER TO PAIN-FREE, HEAD OVER TO THE WEBSITE AND SIGN UP FOR THE NEXT LAB SESSION!! I DO NOT WANT YOU TO COMMIT TO A LONG-TERM PROGRAM IF YOUR BODY DOES NOT RESPOND TO THESE MOVEMENTS FIRST!! LET'S PROVE TO YOUR BODY THAT RELIEF IS POSSIBLE!!
VISIT WWW.SCIATICAPROOFLAB.COM TO CLAIM YOUR SPOT IN THE NEXT FREE 3-DAY CHALLENGE!!
FOR ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PROCESS OR TO SHARE YOUR STORY, EMAIL US AT INFO@SCIATICARELIEFNOW.NET!! WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!!
STAY BALANCED,
DEAN VOLK, MPT
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