Exercise Program for Sciatica

Reviewed by Dr. Kshitij Chaudhary, Last reviewed October 2026

Sciatica from a slipped disc usually settles within 6 to 12 weeks, and the right exercises help you get there. This is a sample program. It does not replace an individual plan from your doctor or physiotherapist. To understand the problem itself, read ◾Lumbar Disc Herniation & Sciatica (Slipped disc in lower back).

Before you start

• Check with your doctor or physiotherapist first if your leg or foot feels weak, or if you have had back surgery. After a discectomy, follow the 🚶🏾‍♂️Rehab protocol following lumbar discectomy instead.
• Avoid bed rest. Short, gentle walks help more than lying down.
• Some muscle tiredness is normal. Sharp or worsening pain is not.
• If your body leans to one side when you stand, ask a physiotherapist to check it before you try the exercises that need you to lie on your tummy.

Stage 1: the first 2 to 4 weeks

This is when leg pain is at its worst. The aim is to settle it, keep the nerve moving and wake up your deep core.

Exercise 1: Short walks

Walking keeps your muscles and the nerve moving.

1. Walk on flat ground at an easy pace.
2. Rest if your leg pain builds.
3. Add a few minutes each day.

10 to 15 minutes a day, in short walks if needed.

Exercise 2: Lying on your tummy

This position often eases leg pain. Do it before each set of press-ups.

1. Lie face down on a firm mat.
2. Rest on your forearms for 1 to 2 minutes.

1 to 2 minutes, before each set of press-ups.

Exercise 3: Press-ups

A gentle backward bend. Most slipped discs in the lower back settle better with it, because it takes pressure off the inflamed nerve.

1. Lie face down on a firm mat, with your hands under your shoulders.
2. Gently press your upper body up. Keep your hips, buttocks and lower back completely relaxed.
3. Hold for 2 to 3 seconds at the top, then lower.
4. Check your leg. If the pain moves up out of your leg and into your lower back, that is good. If it spreads further down your calf or foot, stop at once.

10 repetitions every 1 to 2 hours while you are awake.

Exercise 4: Gentle core tightening

Teaches your deepest tummy muscle to switch on. The 🫔Core Exercises for Your Lower Back page has the full program. This is the Step 1 of that program.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat.
2. Place your fingertips about 2 cm in and below the bony points at the front of your hips.
3. Breathe out gently and draw your belly button in towards your spine. Keep the effort under 30%.
4. Feel for a flat sheet of tension under your fingertips. Hold for 10 seconds while breathing normally.

10 repetitions, 2 to 3 times a day.

Exercise 5: Nerve glides

Helps the irritated nerve slide freely, without stretching it.

1. Lie on your back and hold the back of your thigh with both hands.
2. Gently straighten your knee upwards until you feel a light pull, while pointing your toes.
3. Pull your foot towards you as you lower the leg.
4. Move smoothly, with no hard stretching. If it brings on shooting pain, ease off.

10 to 15 glides, 2 to 3 times a day.

Ready for Stage 2?

Move on when your constant leg pain has gone, your symptoms sit mostly in your lower back, and you can hold the core tightening for 10 seconds without holding your breath.

Stage 2: about weeks 4 to 8

Now you keep your spine steady while your arms and legs move. Do the gentle tightening from Exercise 4 before each move.

Exercise 6: Heel slides and marching

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Tighten gently as in Exercise 4.
2. Heel slide: slide one heel away until the leg is straight, then slide it back. Swap legs.
3. Marching: lift one foot a few centimetres off the floor, lower it, and swap. Keep your hips still.

10 repetitions each leg, once a day.

Exercise 7: Bridge

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, hip-width apart.
2. Tighten gently, then squeeze your buttocks and lift your hips until your shoulders, hips and knees form a straight line.
3. Hold for a few seconds, then lower slowly.

10 repetitions, once a day.

Exercise 8: Bird-dog

1. Get on your hands and knees, with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Keep your back flat like a tabletop.
2. Tighten gently. Slowly lift one arm and the opposite leg until they are level with your back. Keep your hips level and do not twist.
3. Hold for a few seconds, lower, and swap sides.

8 repetitions each side, once a day.

Exercise 9: Dying bug

1. Lie on your back with your arms pointing to the ceiling and your knees bent over your hips.
2. Tighten gently. Slowly lower one arm overhead and straighten the opposite leg, without arching your back.
3. Return to the start and swap sides.

8 repetitions each side, once a day.

Walking and cycling

Build up to 20 to 30 minutes of walking a day. Upright stationary cycling is also fine.

Ready for Stage 3?

Move on when your back moves freely without pain and your core stays steady while your arms and legs move.

Stage 3: from about week 8

The aim is to build endurance and get back to normal life. Add half planks (on your knees) and side planks, building up to holds of 30 to 60 seconds. The Core Exercises page and the Spine Conditioning Program (Stretching & Strengthening Exercises) show how.

Exercise 10: Lifting with a hip hinge

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and tighten gently.
2. Push your buttocks back and bend at your hips and knees. Keep your spine straight, like a board.
3. Hold the object close to your body and stand up by pushing through your legs.

Exercise 11: Pivot with your feet

When you move or carry something, step and turn with your feet. Turn your whole body as one unit. Do not twist through your lower back.

Protect your back every day

• Getting out of bed: bend your knees and roll onto your side as one unit. Push up with your arms as you swing your legs off the bed. Do not twist.
• Sitting: Do not sit for more than 20 minutes at a time. Stand up and walk around. Put a small roll in the curve of your lower back, and avoid soft, deep sofas. See 🖥️Desk Ergonomics and Lower Back Protection.
• Standing up from a chair: lean forward from your hips with your back straight, tighten gently and push up through your thighs.

What should you avoid?

• Bending forwards at the waist, sit-ups and toe touches
• Holding your breath or straining. Breathe out as you make the effort, and count out loud from 1 to 10
• Twisting your back under load. Pivot with your feet instead
• Sitting for more than 20 minutes at a time
• Hard nerve stretching

How soon will you see benefits?

Leg pain usually eases first, over the first few weeks. Numbness and tingling can take longer, because nerves heal slowly. Most people recover without surgery. See 🧵Common myths about low back pain and 📕The Back Pain Guide for the bigger picture.

Can you do these after surgery?

Ask your surgeon or physiotherapist when to start. After 🎯Minimally invasive tubular microdiscectomy, follow the discectomy rehab protocol above.

When should you see a doctor?

See your doctor if:

• your leg or foot feels weak, for example your foot drags or your knee gives way
• you have numbness around your groin or inner thighs, trouble passing urine, or lose control of your bladder or bowel. Go to the emergency department the same day. ◾Cauda Equina Syndrome (Emergency Nerve Compression in the Lower Back)
• you have constant severe pain at night that does not ease with rest, or fever or unexplained weight loss
• your leg pain keeps getting worse, or is still severe after about 6 weeks of regular exercise. If you have been advised surgery, you can send your MRI for a second opinion first

This page is for general information and does not replace a medical consultation. Please see a doctor for advice about your own symptoms.

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About Dr. Kshitij Chaudhary

This page was written by Dr. Kshitij Chaudhary, a fellowship-trained spine surgeon at P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, trained in complex spine surgery at Harvard Medical School (Beth Israel Deaconess) and the Twin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis. 🏃🏾About Dr. Chaudhary