The best cardiovascular exercise for sciatica sufferers is swimming. Swimming places minimal stress on the back and the legs while still providing an effective cardio workout, that gets the heart rate up and burns calories. This gives you all the advantages of a cardio workout without compromising on comfort. For best results, try to swim for 30 minutes a day, five times per week. Pilates is a great, low-impact way to improve the strength of your muscles without causing too much sciatic pain. Most Pilates maneuvers involve stretching the muscles using slow, smooth movements. For more information on how to do Pilates, see this article. Yoga is another great, low-impact form of exercise that helps to alleviate pain on the back and prevent it from recurring. Yoga is a combination of stretching and breathing techniques – making it the perfect activity for relieving sciatic pain. For more information on how to do yoga, see this article. Although it has numerous general health benefits, running is not a recommended form of cardio exercise for people suffering from sciatica. Running is stressful and jars the lower back and legs, which may cause sciatic pain to become worse. However, going for a walk is recommended for people with sciatica, provided you warm up with dynamic range of motion exercises, stretch after the walk, and correct posture is maintained throughout the exercise.
Go swimming to increase the heart rate, without stressing the back and legs. Try pilates to stretch and strengthen the muscles. Do yoga to learn correct breathing techniques and relieve pain. Avoid running, as it can place too much strain on the back.