I went for a relaxing 75 minutes on my recumbent yesterday, out into the countryside north of Morgan Hill then through some local neighborhoods. I’m still limited by sciatica. It feels fine riding but can flare up later if I overdo it. I was fortunate enough to get an appointment squeezed in with my doctor on December 29th about this. Hopefully, she can get the ball rolling on diagnostics and getting referred to PT. In the meantime, I’m alternating hot and cold compresses and doing all the stretches I know. And I’m trying to loosen my piriformis muscle through reciprocal inhibition: the piriformis muscle abducts and externally rotates the hip, so contracting the muscles that adduct and internally rotate it should relax it. I found a lot of useful information and exercises in the book Piriformis Syndrome: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Yoga: Pain in the Butt by Dr. Loren Fishman, a specialist in this syndrome.
Reciprocal inhibition exercises for the piriformis muscle using resistance bands. Hip adduction (left) and internal rotation (right).
The hills are nice and green now close up
A little hazier off in the distance. The morning fog had not quite burned off
