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Web address: www.sciaticarelief.net

Disclaimer : The entire contents of this book are based upon research conducted by the au-thor, unless otherwise noted. The publisher, the author, the distributors and bookstores pre-sent this information for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diag-nose or prescribe for medical or psychological conditions nor to claim to prevent, treat, miti-gate or cure such conditions. The author and the publisher are not making an attempt to rec-ommend specific products as treatment of disease, and neither do they have any financial interest in the sale of the substances described in this book. In presenting this information, no attempt is being made to provide diagnosis, care, treatment or rehabilitation of individuals, or apply medical, mental health or human development principles, to provide diagnosing, treat-ing, operating or prescribing for any human disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical condi-tion. The information contained herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a doctor or qualified health care professional. Therefore, the reader should be made aware that this information is not intended as medical advice, but rather a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the author. The publisher and the author encourage you to make your own health care decisions based upon your re-search and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. You and only you are re-sponsible if you choose to do anything based on what you read.

Sciatica Relief at Last! Copyright 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Cambridge Tower Publishing

www. Sciaticarelief.net

By

Luke Matthews

Cambridge Tower Publishing

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Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……..

My Story, Why I Wrote Sciatica Relief at Last!......…………………………………….………..…..………….…

Getting to The Root of The Problem ………...……………………………………….……………………..……………

You Must Avoid Stress During Your Recuperation …………………………..……..…………………….………..

Overview of Sciatica Relief at Last!.....………………………………………………….………………………….……..

Part 1

Step 1 of Sciatica Relief at Last!- Fighting the inflammation ……………………..……………………..

What’s The Best Way of Getting Rid of Inflammation?...............................................................

Road blocks to healing your sciatic nerve ……………………………………………………………………..……….

Step 2 of Sciatica Relief at Last!- Healing Your Sciatic Nerve…………………………..….……….……….

The Super Food You Can’t Do Without……………………………….…………………………….…………………….

The Dosing Schedule……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Step 3 of Sciatica Relief at Last!- Decompression ………………………………………………….………….

Positions That Decompress Your Spine Naturally ……………………………………………….………………….

Lying Down……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………

Lying On Your Back…………………...……………………………………………………………………………………………

Knees Toward Chest ………….………..………………………………………………..……………………………………….

On Your Side, Modified Fetal Position …………………………………………………………….……………………..

Leg’s On Chair …………………………………………………………………………………………………….….……..……….

On Your Side With One Leg On Chair..…….………………………………………………………………….…………..

Manual Decompression………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Hands On Thighs ….......................……………………………………………………………………..…………..……….

Assisted Decompression ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Standing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sitting…..……………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………….

Heat And Decompression..………………………………………………………………….………………………………….

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Which Type Of Heat is Best?........................................................................................................

Heating Products Pros and Cons …………………………………………………………………………………………….

Best Time To Use Heat …………………………………………………………………….……………………………...…….

Step 4 of Sciatica Relief at Last: Using Sleep to heal your Body ……………..………………..……..

How to Improve Your Sleep Naturally…………………………………………………………………..………………..

The foundation of Your Back Health ………………………………………………………….……..………..………....

How to Tell If Your Mattress is Friend or Foe …...........................................................................

How to Pick The Perfect Mattress………………………………..……………………………………...………………...

Part 2 Step 5 of Sciatica Relief at Last!: Prevention – Getting to the root of the problem…..……... What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Sciatica ………………………………..………….……………..……...

The Real Cause of Sciatica Revealed ………………………………..…………….………………………………...…...

What is Muscular Imbalance? ……………………………………...………………….……….…………...…...…….….

How Muscular Imbalances Cause Sciatica ………………………………..…….……………………………......…..

How Did I Get a Muscular Imbalance in The First Place?…………………..………..…..………………...…..

Your Amazing Spine …………………….…………………………………………………………………………….…..………

The Supporting Role of Muscles ……….……………………………………………….…………………………..………

Correcting Your Muscular Imbalance ..………………………………………………………………….……….….…..

The Importance of Good Posture …………..…………………………………………………………………...…….…..

How to Improve Your Posture in One Simple Lesson ………………………………...……..………….………..

Make Good Posture a Lifelong Habit ………..…………….……………………..………...………….………………..

The Mental Side of Good Posture …………...…………….……………………..………....……….…………………..

When Sitting Use Lumbar Support………………………………………………………………………………………….

Its Time To Build Some Muscle ……………....…………….………………………………...…….……………….…….

Abdominal Breathing……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Opposite Arm/Leg Lifts……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Conclusion ……………....…………….……………..……………………...…….………………………….............………..

Spreading The Message………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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Introduction

As I sit here writing Sciatica Relief at Last! I’m faced with a difficult task.

What’s so tough? Is it the writing? No.

It’s deciding what to keep in the book and what to exclude. I have so much to say about sciatica, I could easily write a 300 page book on the subject!

But that wouldn’t be fair to you. Why not?

Because, I’m aware that you’re in pain and you’re anxious to get to the treat-ment.

This leaves me with the challenge of distilling years of information down to on-ly the gems you need to quickly cure your sciatica and I’m glad to announce I’ve succeeded in doing just that!

Sciatica Relief at Last! is a concise step by step guide that contains only the vi-tal information you need to succeed. However, I must say this; No book or treatment plan no matter how great can help you unless you apply what you learn.

And Sciatica Relief at Last! is no exception, please read the book in its entirety before taking any action and then follow each step carefully.

If you heed this piece of advice you will be rewarded with your ultimate goal……..you will cure your sciatica once and for all.

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My Story, Why I Created Sciatica Relief at Last!

100% Pure Rubbish!

That’s how I describe 99% of today’s so called sciatica cures and treatments. When I was suffering with sciatica I was frustrated with my doctors, because none of their treatments worked.

First it was muscle relaxers and painkillers, than it was physical therapy, stretch-ing and traction. I was prescribed a cane which was the most useful thing I ever got from my doctors.

I was prescribed oral steroids which did help somewhat but the side effect was an insatiable appetite, I literally could not stop eating and to me that was worse than the sciatica, and something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

After that I started receiving epidural injections which I loved because it was the only treatment that gave me some relief from my pain, even if it was only tem-porary.

If you’ve never had an epidural injection let me tell you, it is one of the most painful procedures you can have done, but afterward there is the sweet relief, Ahh.

Too bad the relief doesn’t last more than a few weeks and then it’s back to that miserable sciatica pain.

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It’s also too bad that your doctor can only give you a limited number of epidur-al injections due to the danger of deteriorating your vertebra later in life.

I almost cried one day when I hobbled all the way to my doctor’s office and he refused to give me an epidural injection.

I knew he was only looking out for my best interests but I was still angry and in pain.

I felt I had run out of options.

I went home and realized that if I was going to get over my sciatica, I would have to do it myself.

Through a long process of trial and error I learned exactly what works and what doesn’t work in the treatment of sciatica and created Sciatica Relief at Last!.

I learned how to eliminate my sciatic nerve pain and now it’s your turn. By fol-lowing the simple steps in Sciatica Relief at Last! you’ll be pain free before you know it.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

The reason traditional treatments such as chiropractic, drugs, electric stimula-tion devices, and stretching don’t work is because they attempt to treat the

symptom and not the root cause of the problem. In addition all traditional treatments for sciatica completely overlook the fact that when the sciatic nerve is compressed it sustains a bit of damage and needs to heal.

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Have you ever wondered why it is that you feel sciatic nerve pain in the back of your leg even though the source of your pain is a herniated disk in your back?

The reason for this is that the sciatic nerve cells have a protective covering called the myelin sheath, and this sheath or covering helps the nerve cells send information through your nervous system.

When the myelin sheath is damaged due to compression, it causes the nerve cells to misfire and as a result causes the pain to radiate along the nerve.

Healing the myelin sheath is an important part of your recovery.

I’m going to show you exactly how to heal your sciatic nerve but first there’s something you need to know about your sciatica pain and your stress levels.

You Must Avoid Stress During Your Recuperation

Whoever said “what you don’t know can’t hurt you” obviously didn’t have

sciatica!

The truth is when you have sciatica, what you don’t know about stress can hurt you a lot!

Stress is a fact of life that we learn to cope with and manage, but as a sciatica sufferer stress can be much more harmful than you realize. Why?

The reason is that sciatica adds a huge amount of stress to every part of your life, from your work and finances to your family life and relationships.

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Sciatica makes it much more difficult to succeed in all these areas. As a result you may find yourself emotionally drained and plagued by worry, stress and even depression.

And here’s the worst part, not only does sciatica increase the stress in your day to day life but the negative emotions it produces can increase your sciatic pain without you even knowing it!

Now you may be thinking, “that sounds weird, how can my stress increase the pain I feel in my leg”?

But, it’s really not weird at all, in fact you’ve probably had this happen to you in the past, take the common headache for example.

Isn’t it true that when you have a headache, emotional reactions to stress such as anger or frustration can increase your pain? Of course it is! In fact even simple stresses like bright lights and loud noises can make your headache much worse. It’s the same with your sciatica.

The truth is, just like your headache, sciatica makes you much more sensitive to stress. And that’s why stress and emotions such as fear and anger can in-crease your pain levels.

Does this mean that your pain is not real or that you’re imagining it?

No, I’m not saying that your pain is not real or that it’s all in your head.

Let me be perfectly clear about that, your pain is 100% real!

I’m just saying that it’s important for you to know how your stress levels and emotions can increase your sciatic pain on a daily basis.

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Learn to pay attention to your pain levels, see if you can spot a connection be-tween you’re pain, stress and emotions.

It’s easy to forget how strong the mind-body connection is and how the emo-tions that start in your mind can impact your body.

Don’t fall into this trap! As a sciatica sufferer you must be aware that while you’re recovering and following the steps in Sciatica Relief at Last! you need to avoid emotions such as fear, anger and frustration as much as possible.

While it’s not realistic to think you can avoid all stress you must do your best to avoid all unnecessary stress for the next 30 days because your stress and emo-tions will absolutely increase your pain level.

The bottom line is this, if you want to eliminate your pain and make your sciatica a distant memory, you must become aware of your emotions and get plenty of peace and quiet as you follow the steps in Sciatica Relief at Last!.

Overview of Sciatica Relief at Last!

Only Sciatica Relief at Last! offers the complete answer to quickly and easily eliminate your sciatica pain.

Sciatica Relief at Last! uses a proven 5 step approach to curing sciatica. Here’s a quick overview of the steps you’ll need to follow.

1. Inflammation reduction.

First we’ll reduce the inflammation in the muscles surrounding your sciatic nerve.

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2. Healing the Sciatic Nerve

Next we’ll help your sciatic nerve heal rapidly, by removing the road blocks that prevent it form healing.

3. Removing the Pressure

Here you’ll learn how to remove the pressure on your sciatic nerve.

4. Sleep

You’ll learn how to improve your sleep so that you use 100% of your body’s

recuperative powers.

5. Prevention

You’ll learn how to develop a strong offense in the battle with sciatica and keep it from ever returning.

Part 1

Step 1 of Sciatica Relief at Last!: Fighting the inflammation

The first step to stopping your sciatic pain is getting rid of as much inflammation as possible.

Shouldn’t I first work on relieving the pressure on my sciatic nerve? You may ask. No, here’s why.

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Even if you took all the pressure off of the sciatic nerve it would continue to be irritated by inflammation in the muscles surrounding it and you will continue to have pain.

You will definitely be removing the pressure soon but for now reducing the amount of Inflammation around the sciatic nerve is our first priority, so, let’s take a look at the best way to do it.

What’s the best way of getting rid of inflammation?

Many sciatica sufferers are instructed by there doctors to use ice to reduce

inflammation and treat low back pain.

However, while it’s true that applying ice to the affected area will help to reduce inflammation and swelling, it’s also true that ice will cause your already tight back muscles to contract even more which can mean more pain not less.

That’s why I recommend using a standard over the counter anti-inflammatory, such as naproxen also known as Aleve or Tylenol to reduce inflammation and swelling.

Now you may be saying to yourself hey wait a minute, I already take naproxen and other pain killers and they just don’t work!

Let me just say that your 100% right, pain killers don’t work on sciatica but I just want to remind you that you’ll be taking this as an anti-inflammatory only, not for pain relief, that will come soon enough but for now we just need to reduce the inflammation.

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I personally use Aleve because it’s formulated in such a way that you need much less of it than other types of anti-inflammatories, however use whichever you feel works best for you ibuprofen, aspirin etc.

Here’s an Amazon link to the brand of Naproxen I personally use.

Once the inflammation is reduced you will experience some relief however in order to eliminate the pain we must heal your sciatic nerve at the point of

injury.

As you can imagine a nerve is a very complex and sensitive thing and as long as it is injured you will experience pain.

So let’s take a closer look at your sciatic nerve.

With a little help your sciatic nerve can heal very quickly but first we must re-move a few more road blocks to your recovery.

Road Blocks to Healing Your Sciatic Nerve

As you have already learned your sciatic nerve cells have a protective covering around them called the myelin sheath. This sheath is vital to the proper function of the nerve and if compressed can be damaged causing considerable pain. That’s why it is critical to speed the healing of this important layer.

The major problem with healing your sciatic nerve comes in the form of toxins in your body, especially metals that can inhibit the repair of your sciatic nerve and in fact your entire nervous system.

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Consider what one researcher said about the effects of metals on the nervous system.

“The nervous system is the principal target for a number of metals. Inor-ganic compounds of aluminum, arsenic, lead, lithium, manganese, mercu-ry, and thallium are well known for their neurological and behavioral ef-fects in humans. The alkyl derivatives of certain metals--lead, mercury and tin--are especially neurotoxic”.

- T W Clarkson

Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine, NY 14642.

What this means for you, as a sciatica sufferer is that these elements can

seriously hinder your body’s ability to heal your sciatic nerve.

Without removing these toxins your sciatic nerve will heal but the healing

process can take years!

By removing these toxins from your body you will greatly accelerate your body’s ability to heal and you will be sciatica free sooner than you ever thought

possible.

What you need is a super substance that will flush these toxins out of your body quickly and allow your body to heal your sciatic nerve.

Fortunately, I know just the substance.

This super detoxifying substance is called Chlorella.

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Step 2 of Sciatica Relief at Last!: Healing Your Sciatic Nerve

Chlorella, the Super Food You Can’t Do With Out!

Chlorella is a simple blue green algae. Now you might be saying oh that’s gross but hold on, chlorella isn’t any old run of the mill algae. In fact chlorella is con-sidered a super food. (These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.)

Chlorella is highly regarded by scientists and health experts as the perfect food and was even considered as the one food most likely to end world hunger!

Chlorella is available at your local health food store or online and is known to remove toxic metals from the human body, reduce acidity, help with constipa-tion and a host of other positive benefits.

Chlorella is a proven super food that no one should be without but most im-portantly in your case it will speed the healing process and help you get pain free in record time. It’s even safe for pregnant women, in fact chlorella is a key ingredient in many prenatal vitamins.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking any medication or have any other medical conditions consult with your healthcare provider prior to use. Chlorella is availa-ble in either powder form or tablets. I personally prefer the tablets because they are much more convenient than the powder.

When you purchase chlorella be sure it says “cracked cell” chlorella or broken wall on the bottle. “Cracked cell” just means that the cell walls are cracked to aid digestion. This way you’ll be sure to get the maximum benefit from your chlorella.

Here’s an Amazon link to the brand of Chlorella that I personally use.

On Sciatica Relief at Last! you will be taking your normal anti-inflammatory

medication and chlorella supplements to deliver a one two punch that will get you back on your feet and back living life again.

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The Dosing Schedule

Here’s what you’re going to do.

Start by taking your anti-inflammatory medication following the directions on the bottle; be careful not to exceed the recommended dosage of any medication in a 24hr period.

Along with your anti-inflammatory you’re going to take 2 grams of chlorella at the same time.

Continue taking the anti-inflammatory medication until you reach the limit for that day but also continue taking 1-2 grams of chlorella every 4 hours until bed time.

Note: If you feel uncomfortable exceeding the recommended dosage of chlorel-la simply follow the recommended dosage on the bottle.

How long should you continue the dosing schedule?

Continue following the dosing schedule until you’re pain free or reach the limit set out by the manufacturer of your anti-inflammatory medication again, be careful not to exceed the recommended maximum dosage.

You may continue taking chlorella alone, for pain and to promote healing as needed .

By combing the chlorella with an effective anti-inflammatory you’re going to

experience relief from your pain, probably for the first time in a long while.

When you consider the benefits of taking chlorella why not consider making it a lifelong habit.

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Step 3 of Sciatica Relief at Last!: Decompression

Decompression of the spine more specifically decompression of the disk that is touching your sciatic nerve is vital.

By decompressing your spine you’ll allow the injured disk the opportunity to re-turn to its normal shape or at least retract far enough so that it’s no longer touching your sciatic nerve, which is all you really need.

It’s important to know how to sit, stand and lie to minimize the pressure on your lower back and sciatic nerve.

In order to decompress your spine successfully it’s important to learn and use a few key postures.

For maximum results it’s important to apply heat while decompressing your back please see the section on heat before trying these positions.

Lying Down

Odds are if you have sciatica you’re going to be lying down quite a bit, so

learning and using these positions is very important.

The illustrations on the following pages will show you exactly how to position your body to decompress your spine.

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Positions That Decompress Your Spine Naturally

Lying on your back

When lying on your back you may instinctively try to relieve the pressure on your spine by elevating your legs and placing a pillow or cushion under your legs, that’s a good habit. Continue using pillows or cushions for support as you practice the following positions.

1. Knees toward chest

Lie on you back and bring your knees up toward your chest and put your feet flat on the bed near your buttocks.

Knees toward chest

Pillows used for Proper Support

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This position will naturally decompress the vertebra in your lower back. A word of caution if you feel an increase in your pain level doing this or any other pos-ture stop immediately. Remember, your searching for positions that reduce the pressure and pain.

Variation - Knees to the Side

Same as above except you allow your bent legs to slowly fall over to one side or the other.

2. On your side, modified fetal position

Lie on your side and bring you knees up toward your chest like you’re in the fe-tal position. For support place a body pillow or cushion between your knees to keep your pelvis and spine level and if you like, use additional pillows to support your upper body.

Modified Fetal Position

Knees to the Side

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All These positions can be performed either while your in bed or on the floor. If you fail to find relief while performing these positions on your bed, I strongly suggest you try them while lying on the floor.

These next positions are specifically meant to be done on the floor.

3. Leg’s on Chair

You’ll need a chair for this one or if you don’t have a chair handy or don’t want to move one just use your sofa or ottoman.

Lie on the floor on your back and put your legs on the seat of the chair, this will provide more decompression than just using pillows because it’s higher and firmer allowing your lower back to decompress a bit more.

Legs on a Chair

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4. On your side with one leg on the chair

Lie on the floor on your side and place one bent leg on the seat.

This position may sound uncomfortable but it can provide a maximum amount of decompression.

Manual Decompression

The previous positions were static meaning they don’t relay on movement to decompress the spine. These next positions allow you to add a bit of pressure for a deeper, stronger decompression.

5. Hands on thighs

Lie on the floor on your back and bring your knees up toward your chest and place your feet flat on the floor, the same way you did in the knees toward chest

On your side with one leg on chair

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position. Only this time place your hands on the tops of your thighs near your waist and gently push on the tops of your thighs you will feel your lower back decompressing quickly.

Don’t over do it, just apply gentle pressure and enjoy the feeling of decompres-sion.

Note: Don’t do the next position until you have done this one a few times because

this position will teach you exactly were to apply the pressure in the next one.

6. Assisted decompression

Caution: To prevent injury always lock the door to stop accidental opening while your doing this position. You could be hurt if someone opens the door

unexpectedly. So locking the door and placing a note on the other side of the door explaining what you are doing and warning others not to open the door are important safety precautions you should always follow.

For this one you’re going to need a couple of simple items you have around the house first you’re going to need a thin blanket or bed sheet. Next you’re going to need a can of food from the pantry and lastly you need a door with some space for you to lie down on the floor in front of it.

O.K, so here’s how this is going to work. First take your can of corn or whatever you have laying around and place it in the center of the sheet.

Hands on Thighs

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Next take the part of the sheet with the can in it and place it on the other side of the door very close to the bottom.

Now close the door so that the can is on one side of the door while you’re on the other side holding the majority of the sheet.

Now, lay down on the floor in front of the door on your back. Bring your knees up toward your chest with your feet flat on the floor and take both sides of the sheet and wrap the ends around you’re legs at the top of your thighs and tie the ends in a knot.

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Next slowly and carefully scoot yourself away from the door so that the sheet supplies the pull on the tops of your thighs and decompresses your lower back. You can adjust the pressure by either moving closer or farther from the door.

Try all of these positions and stick to the ones that provide you with the most comfort.

Try changing positions instead of just staying in one position for extended peri-ods of time. I suggest spending a little time, in one comfortable position then switching to another.

Standing

Standing can put a tremendous amount of pressure on your spine, especially if you have a muscular of structural imbalance.

So learning how to minimize the pressure is vital.

When standing and feeling any pain make sure you have something like a small box or stepstool to place one foot on.

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Don’t ignore the pain or simply shift your weight from foot to foot all that will do is cause the muscles in the imbalanced side of your lower back to contract and put extra pressure on your bulging disk, increasing your pain.

So get into the habit of keeping one leg up. Here’s the exception, if when you’re standing you don’t feel any pain then keep doing what you’re doing because you’re obviously doing what works for you.

Sitting

When sitting there’s not a lot you can do to decompress your spine. The key when sitting is to use adequate lumbar support.

Any time your sitting and you feel your pain level start to increase get lumbar support by placing a small cushion or pillow on the small of your back. Sup-porting your lumbar or lower back will ensure your back keeps its natural curves and distributes your weight evenly across your spine.

Again the exception is, if when you’re sitting you don’t feel any pain then keep doing what you’re doing.

Lumbar Support

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Heat and Decompression

When you have a back spasm, applying heat to the muscles will help them relax. So it’s vital to apply heat whenever possible while you decompress your spine.

Which type of heat is best?

Wet or dry? Honestly it doesn’t matter, try them both and use the one you like best.

Heating products Pros and Cons

There are a lot of products these days that will allow you to apply heat to your back, from hot water bottles and electric heating pads to heat producing band-ages that you apply to your back like a large band-aid.

Use which ever you feel works best for you, if you don’t have any personal expe-rience with these products, I have some suggestions.

I recommend a good heating pad available at any drug store or chain store, they range in price from $10 - $40 dollars.

Unlike hot water bottles or chemical pads, most electric heating pads allow you to select different heat settings so you have more control over the amount of heat you use.

Electric heating pads deliver consistent heat for as long as you want. This is a huge benefit because when you’re in pain, the last thing you want to do is get up to add hot water to a cool hot water bottle or have to change a chemical pad that’s gone cold.

Here’s an Amazon link to the Heating Pad I personally recommend.

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In addition, many electric heating pads have built in safety devices that will au-tomatically shut the pad off after a certain amount of time, reducing the risk of burning yourself should you fall asleep while using the pad.

Important safety tip:

Before using your heating pad for the first time make sure to familiarize yourself with all the features and make sure to follow all the safety instructions provided by the manufacturer of your heating pad.

Best time to use heat

Note: Never go to sleep while using your electric heating pad!

If you’re heating pad doesn’t have a safety timer you could get burned, so please follow all the manufactures safety instructions carefully.

Ideally you’ll apply heat to your lower back any time you’re sitting or lying down either on the floor or in your bed during your recuperation period and when do-ing your decompression postures.

The added heat will help your muscles relax so you get the maximum amount of decompression.

Step 4 of Sciatica Relief at Last!: Using Sleep to heal your Body

Your body is constantly working; it’s like a super factory working day and night around the clock, converting food into energy, repairing damaged cells and a host of other wonderful things.

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Like any factory your body has its prime production time when it’s at its best and working the hardest to heal your sciatic nerve and that time is when you’re sleeping.

As a sciatica sufferer you’ve probably been having a hard time sleeping due to the pain and discomfort.

As a result your body just doesn’t have a chance to heal adequately that’s why it’s vital that you get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

If you’ve been following the suggestions in this book no doubt your pain level has dramatically decreased over the last few days, however your sleep pattern may need to be adjusted.

You may still find it difficult to fall asleep at your usual time or you may have difficulty sleeping through the night.

How to Improve Your Sleep Naturally

Your sleep cycle is controlled by the hormone melatonin which is produced by the pineal gland in your brain. Melatonin helps your body know when to go to sleep and when to wake up.

Several factors effect your body’s production of melatonin, such as stress and even, how much day light you receive.

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Melatonin is available in synthetic form at any supplement shop. Taking melato-nin supplements will help reset your body’s natural sleep cycle and will help you sleep more soundly which means you’ll heal faster, which is your ultimate goal.

Note: Consult your doctor before taking melatonin or any other herbal supplement. Caution* if you are under medical supervision or are taking tranquilizers or sedatives, seek the advice of your physician prior to using melatonin. Do not use melatonin if you have an auto-immune condition, depression or endo-crine disorder, or are pregnant or lactating. Do not take melatonin while operating a motor vehicle or machinery. Not to be taken by individuals under the age of 16.

Melatonin is non habit forming, and has long been used as a natural sleep aid.

Here’s an Amazon link to the brand of Melatonin that I personally use.

No discussion about sleep would be complete without taking a detailed look at your mattress.

Next we’ll take a close look at this important part of your recovery.

The Foundation of Your Back Health

Your mattress is one of the biggest factors in your recovery and for your back health for the rest of your life.

While you’re treating your sciatica you’re likely to spend a lot of time in bed. So your mattress is literally the foundation of your back health.

It can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

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How to Tell if Your Mattress is Friend or Foe?

Here’s a simple way to tell if your mattress is supporting and cradling your spine like a loving mother or letting it sag and twist like a bag of wet laundry.

Here’s what you’ll do, get in your bed, and lay in a comfortable position like you normally would and if after a few minutes your back pain increases I have bad news for you your bed is not your friend.

If you consistently wake up in pain or don’t feel rested when you wake despite getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep, it maybe time for a new one.

If however you get in your bed and your pain level does not increase, or if it di-minishes and you wake up each day feeling refreshed and well rested, congratu-lations you’ve got a winner.

How to pick the perfect mattress

This is pretty simple, just go down to your neighborhood mattress store and per-form the same test you did at home, just make sure you bring along all the pil-lows you normally use and lie down in the same positions you do at home.

You may get some funny looks but honestly who cares as long as you get the mattress you need to stay pain free.

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Picking the perfect mattress isn’t hard but it can be a little time consuming and maybe a little embarrassing , but who cares I’d rather be a little embarrassed for a few minutes than be in pain for years.

Now you’re ready!

If you’ve followed all the steps in Sciatica Relief at Last!, no doubt you’ve elimi-nated your sciatica pain and now you’re ready to learn how to prevent sciatica forever.

The final step of Sciatica Relief at Last! is a simple and effective guide that will correct the underlying cause of your sciatica, and have you sciatica proof in no time.

Part 2

Step 5 of Sciatica Relief at Last!: Prevention –

Getting to the Root of the Sciatica Problem

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Sciatica

Your doctor probably explained to you, that your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body and that it runs from the base of your spine through your buttocks muscles and branches off into both your legs and down into your feet.

He may also have told you that your sciatica is caused by pressure from a herni-ated disk irritating your sciatic nerve.

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What your doctor probably didn’t tell you though is why you got a herniated disk in the first place.

This is a shame because understanding why and how you got sciatica is a vital key in understanding how to treat and prevent it in the future.

If your goal is not only to cure your sciatica but also to sciatica proof yourself so that you never suffer a relapse you absolutely must understand the real cause of your sciatica.

The real cause of sciatica revealed

Contrary to popular belief your herniated disk is not the cause of your sciatica, but rather is a symptom of a larger condition known as muscular imbalance.

What is Muscular Imbalance?

Very simply a muscular imbalance is a condition where certain muscles on one side of your body don’t have the same strength as the muscles on the other side of your body. As a result the two halves of your body are out of balance with each other.

Muscular imbalances can occur from front to back so that the imbalance occurs between your back muscles and your abdominal muscles or side to side be-tween the right side of your body and the left side. How does this imbalance im-pact your body and cause sciatica?

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How Muscular Imbalances Cause Sciatica

How do muscular imbalances cause sciatica? Well, when the muscles in your body are not evenly matched, the result is that as you walk, run and sit, the muscles on your strong side all work harder to compensate for your weak side.

This produces a tremendous amount of stress and tension on the joints, tendons and especially the small supporting muscles in your lower back. As the tension caused by your muscular imbalance builds, the muscles on your weak side will begin to fatigue, hurt, and eventually spasm. The primary muscle affected by your muscular imbalance is called the Quadratus Lumborum.

Side to Side Muscular Imbalance Front to Back Muscular Imbalance

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The Quadratus Lumborum muscle connects the back of your pelvis to the ver-

tebra in your lower back.

As the tension caused by your muscular imbalance builds, the Quadratus Lum-

borum on you weak side will begin to fatigue, hurt, and eventually spasm.

When the Quadratus Lumborum muscle on your weak side spasms, it violently

contracts and compresses the discs in your back causing them to herniate or

bulge and irritate your sciatic nerve on the opposite side.

The Quadratus Lumborum

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This explains why a muscle spasm on your left side will produce sciatic pain down your right leg and vice versa.

Now that you understand the real cause of your sciatica, you may be wondering, how did I get the muscular imbalance that caused my sciatica?

How Did I Get a Muscular Imbalance in the First Place?

A muscular imbalance is something you can be born with, but very often a muscular imbalance is the result of inadequate physical therapy after suffering a broken arm or leg. Did you break an arm or a leg as a child or as an adult?

A muscle spasm created by

an muscular imbalance here.

produces sciatica here

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If you did chances are the broken arm or leg atrophied or became weaker due to a lack or use.

Did you receive physical therapy to strengthen and bring it back into balance with your other arm or leg?

If you didn’t odds are you’ve discovered the cause of your muscular imbalance.

If you broke a leg during childhood you may also have a skeletal imbalance as well, you see very often a broken leg in childhood will cause the limb to grow less than the healthy limb.

Sometimes skeletal imbalances occur naturally and it is common for people to be born with one leg shorter than the other. This will often lead to a muscular imbalance as well.

Sciatica is the end result of a complex chain of events starting with a muscular

imbalance.

Now that you know the underlying cause of your sciatica you’re ready to learn how to get rid of it.

Now that you've gotten past the pain of sciatica, correcting your muscular im-balance is the single most important thing you can do to make yourself sciatica proof.

In the following chapters you’ll learn how to correct your muscular imbalance so that you can be sciatica free for a lifetime.

In order to fully understand how to correct your muscular imbalance it’s im-portant to learn a little bit about your spine and how it works.

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Your amazing spine

Your spine is a work of art that rivals modern engineering as a load bearing

device.

In fact, your spine is so efficient at carrying your body weight that according to researchers you only use 7% more energy standing, than you do lying down!

Not only does your spine provide you with an amazing range of motion. It’s also capable of carrying incredible amounts of weight. What’s the secret to your spines amazing strength? The secret to its strength is in its curves. Let’s take a closer look at the parts that make up your spine. As you can see in the illustration your spine is made up of three sections, each with its own unique set of curves.

The first is called the cervical section. The cervical section of your spine extends from the base of your skull to your shoulders.

Second is the thoracic section from your shoulders to just above your waist. The third is the lumbar section which extends approximately from your waist to your tail bone.

Cervical

Thoracic

Lumbar

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It’s not important that you remember the names of each section, but it is im-portant to understand that each of these sections must maintain its unique curve in order to properly support your body weight and prevent back problems like sciatica. Why?

Because these distinct curves distribute your body weight so that the full load isn't on any one section, but is equally distributed across your spinal Column.

The Supporting Role of Muscles

Your spinal Column relies on support from a large number of muscles to main-tain those curves including the muscles in shoulder, mid back, lower back, abdo-men and even the hips and legs.

Muscular imbalances prevent your spine from maintaining its proper curves, causing your spine to compress more than normal and placing extra stress on the muscles of the lower back.

As you learned earlier, sciatica is caused when a muscular imbalance causes the quadratus lumborum muscle in your back to spasm, which in turn compresses vertebrae in your back, which forces it to bulge on one side which compresses your sciatic nerve.

Learning how to correct your muscular imbalance will nip this painful chain of events in the bud.

By following the steps in the following section you’ll learn how to maintain you spine’s natural curves and prevent a relapse of sciatica.

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Correcting Your Muscular Imbalance

The first step to correcting your muscular imbalance is to determine if you have one leg longer than the other. The answer will help you correct your imbalance from the ground up. If you’re not sure if one of your legs is longer than the other, I recommend that you consult with your doctor to find out. If you’re in a hurry however, here's a simple way to tell. Sit in a straight back chair, make sure you lower back is all the way against the back of the chair, now lift your feet and place your heels together as you point your toes outward to the sides, if one leg is shorter you will see one heel higher than the other. If you find that you have a difference, have someone measure the difference and record it for example, if you measure and find that one leg is 3/8th of an inch shorter than the other write that down because you’re going to buy an in-sole lift that equals the shortage.

What is an insole lift? An insole lift is an orthotic device that you place in your shoe to replace the length you’re missing in the shorter leg. They can be bought separately or in pairs. Insole lifts are available in a wide variety of sizes and styles. You can find insole lifts at many local pharmacy's and some shoe stores. If you have trouble finding the lift you need locally don’t despair there are sever-al good suppliers online that have any size and style of insole lift you can think of. To learn more about heal lifts visit www.clearlyadjustable.com. They are an informational website dedicated to shoe lifts.

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There's even a company that will add an additional rubber sole to any shoe you send them, instead of placing a lift inside your shoe. You can visit them at www.orthopedicshoelift.com to learn more. If you've ever been in a house with a cracked and sagging foundation you'll see the tell tale signs all around you, cracks in the floor, uneven walls and even cracks in the ceiling. it's the same with your body, your muscular imbalance will show itself in back pain, fatigue, poor balance, knee and ankle pain. Insole lifts are an inexpensive way to stabilize your spine and reduce tension on overworked supportive muscles. When you purchase your insole lifts make sure you get enough for all the shoes you wear regularly. Place one in your sneakers, work shoes, dress shoes, running shoes etc.

Insole lift placed inside shoe

A body with a muscular imbalance is like a house with a cracked foundation.

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An insole lift will help even out your legs and give your spine and supporting muscles the solid foundation they need to keep you pain free.

The next step in correcting your muscular imbalance is to improve your posture. Not only will good posture protect your back, but it can also supercharge your social life!

The Importance of Good Posture

Stand up straight, don’t slouch! Turns out this is pretty good advice. Who knew?

Good posture is one of those things that most of us neglect and for good reason, good posture takes a bit of effort and so it’s easier not to do, than to do.

If you realize that you have a muscular imbalance, good posture is something you can’t afford to ignore because good posture does something very im-portant. It helps to distribute your body weight evenly across your body by hold-ing the spine close to its natural curves.

This helps to minimize the effects of muscular imbalances, while bad posture on the other hand, just makes these effects worse.

How to Improve Your Posture in One Simple Lesson.

Improving your posture will begin to strengthen the weaker supporting muscles in your body and help you correct your muscular imbalance, so it’s important that you learn the basics of good posture.

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Here’s an easy way to learn how to do it.

First pull back your shoulders and tighten your abdominal muscles slightly. Next place your back to a wall so that your shoulders, buttocks, and heels touch the wall. If your buttocks don’t allow you to do this, don’t worry just get your heels

Like everything else in life the more you do it the easier it gets and eventually it will become second nature.

The key is to stick with it. Why not make good posture part of your daily routine.

Here’s a simple way to do just that.

Good Posture and shoulders as close to the wall as possible. The most im-portant part of having good posture is pulling your shoulders back.

Pulling your shoulders back automatically restores all the natural curves your spine needs to do its job and strengthens the muscles in your upper back, lower back, and abdominals.

Make Good Posture a Life Long Habit

Improving your posture can make you uncomfortable at first. Holding your body erect with your shoulders back and your tummy tucked in will require effort and may be a bit tiring.

Still, I don’t want you to shy away from trying to improve your posture on a daily basis.

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What you’ll do is this, every morning after you get dressed for the day take a mi-nute to adjust your posture by standing with your shoulders back against the wall and then make an effort to maintain your posture throughout the day.

You may not keep it up for the entire day but at least you’ll get some practice in and by repeating this process every morning, you’ll eventually do it without thinking.

The Mental Side of Good Posture

Improving your posture can have a powerful effect on how you feel about your-self and how others perceive you.

Why?

Because of the message good posture sends about you in terms of body lan-guage.

Good posture more than anything else sends a message of confidence, strength and competence.

If you’re not used to seeing yourself that way, you may be a bit uncomfortable walking around with your shoulders pulled back.

Some people feel like there pretending to be someone else and so avoid good posture.

If you find yourself thinking that way, I want you to realize that other people will not think that you’re acting differently or even notice that you’re using good posture, all they’ll notice is that you seem a bit stronger, more confident and they’ll also be more drawn to you without knowing why.

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So as you can see you have everything to gain by improving your posture and nothing to lose except back pain.

Don’t wait start improving your posture today and start getting the benefits you deserve.

When sitting use lumbar support

Try to maintain your good posture when sitting. This will get easier as you devel-op strong supporting muscles, however, no one expects you to sit up straight at all times, after all sometimes you’ll just want to relax on your couch or favorite chair.

Just make sure to keep a small pillow or cushion on hand at all times and use it to support your lower back when your driving, sitting at your desk at work or just relaxing in your favorite chair. This will give your back the support it needs.

It’s time to build some muscle

While it’s true that good posture will help eliminate your muscular imbalance by strengthening underused supporting muscles.

There are two muscles that need special attention, your abdominals and your quadratus lumborum muscles.

These two muscle groups are the work horses of good posture and are also the two muscle groups most often neglected by back pain suffers.

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Inhale

Exhale

Abdominal Breathing

The following exercises are specially designed to build muscle, strength and bal-ance between these two opposing muscle groups. Caution: Always consult your physician before starting any exercise program. I suggest taking a few minutes each day to develop these important muscles. Here’s how you’ll do it.

The first exercise is called abdominal breathing. Begin by lying on the floor on your back, take a deep breath in and push out your abdominals so that your bel-ly get’s big, next exhale while tightening your abs strongly then repeat go on breathing this way for 25 reps and complete 4 sets. I recommend abdominal breathing over other forms of abdominal exercises be-cause it places very little stress on the lower back unlike more typical ab exercis-es. If however you already have a favorite ab exercise that you prefer by all means keep doing what works for you.

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The next exercise is called an opposite arm and leg raise. To do it, you’re going to get down on all fours. Next, you’re going to extend you right arm and your left leg and hold for 5-15 seconds return to the all fours position and repeat raising your left arm and your right leg. As you get stronger you may increase the amount of time you hold each position to 30 seconds or longer. Keep alternating between your right and left sides until you’ve worked each side 2 times.

Opposite Arm and Leg Raises

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Conclusion

Spend a few minutes performing these exercises each day and you’ll build

the solid support muscles your body needs.

By following the steps in Sciatica Relief at Last! you’ve learned how to elim-

inate your sciatica pain, how your spine works and how to take care of it.

In order to enjoy a lifetime of sciatica free back health, I urge you to con-

tinue practicing the things you’ve learned.

Take careful note of the importance of healing your myelin sheath over de-

compressing the spine.

Only by healing the myelin sheath will your sciatica be fully cured.

You absolutely must take chlorella (and preferably at the recommended

dosage) to help aid in the speedy repair of your myelin sheath.

This is not an optional part of the recovery process, and if overlooked, can

slow down your recovery tremendously.

That being said, the second most important part of this program believe it

or not, is stress management.

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There were days that I intensified my sciatica so much by being stressed

and anxious. The worries of having to care for my wife and son were like an

amplifier that sent paralyzing surges of pain through my leg.

I remember when I was laid out on my back in the living room with my 10

year old son and his friends running around me like an obstacle course

(screaming at the top of their lungs) playing with their Nerf guns.

These were the times that I noticed my pain skyrocketing into the

“absolutely unbearable” zone.

Play very close attention to how stressful environments make you feel.

If you cant remove yourself from the situation completely, or if the situa-

tion is something outside of your control, then how can you make an effort

to change how you feel about the situation?

Don’t you owe it to yourself to try to gain a bit of solitude for the next cou-

ple weeks?

You do, and with the tools and principals you’ve learned, there is no doubt

that you can quickly recover from your sciatica.

Finally, when performing your decompression positions and muscle

strengthening, don't over do it!

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I can’t emphasize this enough. Its so important to go extremely slow with

any kind of physical activity when you’re dealing with sciatic nerve dam-

age.

Even if after a week or two you start feeling great, please don't push your-

self beyond the recommended exercise program that I’ve outlined for at

least 30 days time.

If you led an active lifestyle before getting sciatica and you’re anxious to

return to the sports and activities you love so much, please make sure you

see your doctor and verify that you are healthy enough for such activities.

An injury such as sciatica can be very deceptive, and if not fully healed, will

more than likely strike again and leave you back at ground zero.

Now that you know what to do, its time to do it.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to send an email or message me

directly at: admin@sciaticarelief.net

I wish you the fastest recovery possible, friend.

Sincerely,

Luke Matthews

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Spreading the Message

After this program helps you cure your sciatica, please feel free to write a

testimonial/review of the book and send it to:

admin@sciaticarelief.net

Simply mention the effectiveness of the program, the length of time it took

you to recover, and the quality of the book itself.

If you wish to keep your identity anonymous, just say so in the email and

I’ll make sure you are.

Doing this will help even more people, like yourself, cure their sciatica and

regain their lives.