6 Best Sitting Positions with Sciatica You Should Practice

If you are an adult who sits for extended hours at work, you are highly likely to encounter sciatica syndrome. When healthy people find it so tiring to sit for extended hours, we can imagine how painful and uncomfortable it would be for workers with sciatica. Nevertheless, knowing the right and best sitting position for sciatica provides some pain relief.

Are you suffering from chronic back pain? The chronic back pain is not due to sciatica, as some might confuse it, yet it makes you prone to get affected by this syndrome. You are also at a higher risk of having sciatica if you are a smoker, obese, or habitual of sitting for longer hours.

The only way to avoid it is to know the right sitting positions. And for those who have already encountered it, knowing the right sitting positions to relive sciatica is a must. If you suffer from this syndrome, you must wonder how to sit with sciatica. And those who are at a higher risk must know what causes sciatica. This blog has everything that you need to know. We have shared some of the best sitting positions to relieve sciatica here. We have also talked about what causes sciatica in the first place to give you a holistic view. So, let’s begin. 

What Causes Sciatica?

People Experience sciatica when their sciatic nerve gets under stress. The sciatic nerves lie underneath your spine and are two of the largest nerves in your body, starting from the lumbar region (lower spine) and ending in your toes. These nerves carry messages to your legs from the brain.

Sciatic pain occurs when the sciatic nerves get compressed or pinched. Although this can be an outcome of health issues like osteoarthritis, people who sit for extended hours may encounter it too. The ideal way to treat sciatica is to know the best sitting position to sit with sciatica and work on your posture to achieve it. 

Tips on Best Position to Sit with Sciatica

Here are a few tips that will help you adopt sitting positions to relieve sciatica. 

1. Minimize Pressure Under Your Thighs

If you sit in a position that puts a lot of pressure under your thighs, your chances of getting your sciatic nerve under pressure are higher. That's why sitting in a position that helps you minimize pressure under your thighs is important. Typically, this is a position in which your spine is kept neutral.

You may use an ergonomic seat cushion to get some support for your lower back and thighs. Having a chair with a contoured waterfall edge and adjustable seat depth helps here too. In addition, you may keep a footrest to keep your legs at rest.

You must also be mindful of the fact that you must keep your legs uncrossed, as that adds to the pressure exerted on your thighs. In short, you must sit in a position where your body weight is evenly distributed across the bottom. 

2. Adopt a Posture That Keeps Your Spine Neutral

How can you keep your spine neutral? What do we mean by saying you have to keep your spine neutral? Well, keeping your spine neutral means you have to ensure there is no undue pressure on your spine. You can do that part by working on your posture. You must sit up straight and lay your feet flat on the floor.

You must align your ears, shoulders and hips to avoid any extra pressure on your spine. It is better to buy an office chair for lower back pain because those chairs come with an ergonomic backrest. To adopt the best posture, you must keep your back straight with the back support and lay your back on the entire backrest to ensure your spine is neutral. 

3. Take Frequent Breaks

Taking breaks is vital for maintaining a better posture, so it is better that you have a time set for frequent breaks. Doing that will help you maintain a better posture and help you keep your back aligned with your chair while you sit. Frequent breaks also help improve blood circulation and increase mobility, which will also benefit your productivity. 

4. Adopt Some Sciatica Stretches in Your Routine

Incorporating a few sciatica chair stretches into your routine is vital for your spine health. Suppose you are a sciatica patient and wish to have some relief from spine pain. In that case, you must perform the targeted sciatica stretches in your office daily to avoid any further stress on your nerves and have to relieve sciatica. 

5. Avoid Bending Your Lower Back While Getting Up

If you are a sciatica patient, the right way for you to stand is to avoid bending your lower back while you get up. Bending one’s lower back puts pressure on the lower spine and, in turn, puts the sciatic nerve under stress too. That's why the sciatica pain may get worse when someone leaves their seat while bending their lower back. You should try standing up straight without bending your back. 

6. Sit on an Ergonomic Office Chair

If you want to avoid sciatica, you must buy an ergonomic chair. The ErgoChairs are among the best chairs for sciatica, so investing in them would be a great idea.

ErgoChair Pro

Fully adjustable, completely supportive, and super breathable. Flexible lumbar support for any seated position. Fully supportive up to 300 lbs. This one has it all.

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When buying a chair to adopt the right sitting position for sciatica pain, you may think of buying a mesh office chair because these are ergonomic in nature and provide a breathable experience.

Bottom Line – Autonomous Purchase Program

You would be more than happy to know that we have all ergonomic office chairs available on our online store under a discount purchasing program, the Autonomous employee purchase program. You may avail the perks of this program too. All you are required to do is sign up for this program using your corporate email. Once you do that, a vast avenue of discounts will open up for you, under which you will receive exciting discounts.