Every stretch on this site
Why these seven, and how they pair with the two patterns. The first three (piriformis stretches) work the muscle directly. The fourth and fifth are nerve glides, which mobilise the sciatic nerve in its sheath. The sixth (child's pose, modified) is the universal acute-phase decompression. The seventh (prone cobra) is the McKenzie extension centrepiece for disc-bias sciatica.
Supine Piriformis Stretch
The supine piriformis stretch is one of the most commonly prescribed positions for suspected piriformis syndrome. It places the piriformis (which crosses from the sacrum to the greater trochanter) on maximal length while...
Seated Figure-4 Stretch
The seated figure-4 is the desk-friendly version of the supine piriformis stretch. It works particularly well for office workers whose sciatic symptoms flare after extended sitting, because the hip flexion required puts ...
Knee-to-Opposite-Shoulder Stretch
The knee-to-opposite-shoulder variation lengthens the piriformis more fully than the same-side knee-to-chest, because adding adduction across the midline takes the muscle through a greater range. It is a gentler alternat...
Hamstring Nerve Glide (Slumped)
Nerve gliding (or neural flossing) techniques aim to mobilise the sciatic nerve relative to its surrounding tissues. The classic slump-style glide alternates loading and unloading the nerve from both ends (foot and head)...
Sciatic Nerve Floss
pulse, not holdSciatic flossing differs from a static stretch because both ends of the nerve are loaded and unloaded in opposition. The knee extension stretches the distal nerve while chin-tuck stretches the proximal end; reversing eac...
Child's Pose (Modified for Sciatica)
Child's pose is generally well tolerated in sciatica and a frequent component of the acute-phase routine, particularly the knees-wide variant which avoids compressing the abdomen and allows the lumbar spine to round more...
Prone Cobra (McKenzie Extension)
The prone cobra (also called the McKenzie press-up or prone press-up) is the centrepiece of the Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy extension protocol for disc-related sciatica. In a randomised trial published in Spine, pat...