How To Stretch for Sciatic Pain (Bone Spurs, Piriformis Syndrome, Lumbar Disc Injury)

Today I’m going to showcase three types of sciatic pain and what you could do for each type of sciatic pain. The three types of sciatic pains I am going over today are: bone spurs sciatic pain, Piriformis syndrome, and Disc Injury sciatic pain. In this video I will explain why you should try extension exercises for bone spurs sciatic pain, why you should try hip stretches for Piriformis syndrome, and why you should try either extension exercises or lumbar traction exercises for disc injuries. At the end, I will show you my go-to exercises to improve core strength and core endurance.

All footages used in this video are either original or obtained via Storyblocks. Disclaimer: Please consult your local doctor or physical therapist before attempting these exercises. These exercises are specific to my needs and are what work for me. You are responsible for any injury that might occur while attempting these exercises.

Happy Thanksgiving 2023

A year ago, on September 9th, 2022, I uploaded my first YouTube video with the purpose of building a YouTube channel. I have since privated that video, as well as three other videos following that one. I have since then grown that channel to 567 subs from 151 subs. However, I grew more and more frustrated by fewer and fewer view counts on my videos. I was averaging 10-20 views per video from 7/16/22 through 9/3/22. My shorts were getting less and less views as well, having less than 100 views per short during that time. I wanted to blame something, so I blamed the shorts. I saw this YouTube video and a couple of Reddit posts saying that shorts almost killed their channel. It made sense in a way. Most shorts viewers don't watch long form videos. They just don't. I had thought if I could only start fresh with no shorts, I could truly grow unhindered. So on 9/5/23, I made the leap. I created a new channel that I would only upload long form videos. On the three days, nothing really happened. On the third day, I uploaded another video, and this one got 17 views in one day. This was with zero subscribers. On 9/10/23, I uploaded a video called "How to Stretch Frozen Shoulder". It got 523 views in 24 hours. To me, this was astronomical. This also made me feel like I made the right decision to start this new channel. The next video got 300+ views. The video after that that 200+ views. 200+ views again. On 10/1/23 my "How to Stretch for Hip Pain" video got 400+ views. The video after that got 600+ views. I was excited! Then it started to drop. On 10/15/23, I uploaded "How to Stretch for Achilles Tendinitis". This was a video for my mom. It bombed. It got 10 views in 24 hours. The video after that "How to Stretch the knee for Knee Arthritis" also bombed, 15 views in 24 hours. The one after that also bombed. On 11/5/23, I uploaded a video called "How to Reduce Neck Pain with Better Posture". It was a request from a Facebook follower. It got 10 views in 24 hours. To this day it only has 18 views. For the video after that my mom asked me to do something for my uncle who has back pain. I uploaded "How to Increase Core Strength without Using Legs" on 11/12/23. This one got 31 views in 24 hours. I was panicking because I thought these video requests were killing my views. I had a plan where I covered exercises for arthritis pain for the entire winter and I had thought my videos were bombinb because I did not follow the plan. On 11/19/23 I went back to the hip pain topic because my hip videos from before all got over 200 views each, with one of them having 600+ views on its own. I was hoping that this hip video would at least get 15 views from the 15 subscribers who subscribed watching my hip videos back then. It got 11 views in 24 hours, and two of the views were me and my wife. I was devastated. I was crushed. I thought after starting fresh, with new branding and new direction, the new channel would get more views since the subscribers are long form viewers. Was I wrong? Did YouTube push my early videos because that is what they normally do with new channels? Now I am two months in and no longer a brand new channel, now this is the new normal? I started this new channel because I was getting less than 20 views per video on my long form videos. Now I am back to getting less than 20 views per video. To put insult on injury, my old channel is getting more views than ever. I am getting 200 views per day even though I haven't uploaded a long form video for two months on that channel. Among that top 15 performing videos, 6 of them were long form videos. 5 of the 6 videos were review videos, so my long form physical therapy videos were still not getting views. Maybe this niche is saturated. Maybe I should pivot. I don't know. I don't really want to go back to product review because I don't have any room to do cinematic shots of the products. Also, 99% of the comments from the product reviews are hate comments. All I know is that I created enough videos on this new channel so I shouldn't stop here. It may take another year or longer. I don't know. We'll see how it goes in another 365 days. As of now I am thankful that my Facebook views are decent. Thank you Facebook followers! Going strong at 458 followers! I am thankful for that!

How to Strengthen the Hip for Hip Pain

Today I’m going to show you my favorite hip strengthening exercise for hip pain: side planks. The reason I like this exercise is that 1. If done right, this exercise strengthens the gluteus medius muscle, which is a hip stabilizer. 2. It is also a core exercise, so it is like two exercises in one. I will show you three variations of this exercise. At the end of the video I will also demonstrate an alternative exercise if you cannot put too much pressure on your shoulder.

Adjustable ankle weight Amazon affiliate link Modified side plank on knees: Lie down on the floor on your side, on your hip and elbow. Flex your knees and keep your knees flexed. Lift your hip off the floor and push your hips forward into a hip thrust. Make sure you push your elbow into the floor as well to keep your shoulder strong to support your body. Make sure to keep breathing. Keep the hips up as long as you can. Lower your hip down to the floor to rest. Repeat for 3 sets. All footages used in this video are either original or obtained via Storyblocks. Disclaimer: Please consult your local doctor or physical therapist before attempting these exercises. These exercises are specific to my needs and are what work for me. You are responsible for any injury that might occur while attempting these exercises.

How to Increase Core Strength without Using Legs

This video is a special request from a family member suffering from low back pain. We have talked about lumbar traction exercises before, but the pain is still lingering. I know lumbar traction isn’t quite enough. We also need to introduce some core stabilization. However, the patient in question doesn’t have control over the use of his legs, so that makes our options for core exercises very limited. I have no choice but to resort to desperate measures: pelvic floor strengthening. Our pelvic floor muscles are connected to our transversus Abdominis core muscle, so when we contract our pelvic floor, we also activate our core muscles. Fortunately, we can actively contract our pelvic floor muscles through our anal sphincter. When we squeeze our sphincter muscles, we contract our pelvic floor.

Today I will introduce the elevator drill for pelvic floor strengthening. We can do this in any position, including lying down, side-lying, and sitting. First, start in a relaxed position, this is our first floor. Then, start to slightly squeeze out sphincters, just a little bit. This is second floor. Squeeze those sphincter muscles a little more. This is third floor. Squeeze the sphincters as hard as you can. This is fourth floor. Relax the sphincter muscles a little bit. We’re back down to third floor. Relax the sphincter muscles a little bit more. We’re down to the second floor. Completely relax. This is our first floor. Push the pelvic floor muscles/sphincter muscles down and out, like you’re pooping or farting. This is the basement floor. Relax completely again. We’re back to first floor. Repeat the whole thing three times. Then change position and start again. If you started lying down, then to your side and try this in side-lying position. Try this technique and sequence in seated position. We can also combine this exercise with seated lumbar traction. List of footage sources: Storyblocks: guy in wheelchair, guy running his lower back Pelvic floor pictures: Mayo Clinic, The American College of Sports Medicine Disclaimer: Please consult your local doctor or physical therapist before attempting these exercises. These exercises are specific to my needs and are what work for me. You are responsible for any injury that might occur while attempting these exercises.

How to Reduce Neck Pain With Better Posture

Today I’m demonstrating posture exercises to improve neck pain. Have you heard of the phrase that to build a good building, you need a good foundation? You could see our bodies as a building. The foundation to the neck is our torso. If the torso is crooked, our neck suffers. So to put the neck in a better position to heal, you need better posture to improve your foundation for the neck.

The first exercise is a pec stretch on the foam roller. You need a full length foam roller that you can lie down on and one that could support your head and back. If you don’t have a full length foam roller, you could substitute it with some rolled up towels. The second exercise is a walk posture exercise. We’re using the wall to guide our posture into a straighter and more neutral position. Put your hips, back, shoulders, and the back of your head against the wall. The third exercise is called wall angels. You start from the wall posture exercise position, and put the back of your wrists against the wall, then slide your arms up and down the wall by your sides. The last exercise is not really an exercise but more of a tip for seated posture. Make sure you sit in a sturdy chair that has good back support. Sit by a desk or table. Use a book stand for reading books and a cellphone stand for reading on a cellphone. All footages used in this video are original. Disclaimer: Please consult your local doctor or physical therapist before attempting these exercises. These exercises are specific to my needs and are what work for me. You are responsible for any injury that might occur while attempting these exercises. Use my affiliate link to support my content! Anything you buy on Amazon after you click my affiliate link will help me stay as an Amazon Affiliate after 180 days! Full length foam roller Amazon affiliate link Cellphone stand for desks Amazon affiliate link