Why The Dead Bug Exercise Is Making Your Sciatica Worse

Whether it is a lumbar disc herniation or stenosis that’s causing your sciatica, the dead bug when done improperly can result in immediate worsening of your sciatica if done incorrectly. There is one very common mistake that patients make when doing this exercise and a simple fix to help you get it right immediately. Failure to do this deadbug exercise properly will aggravate your sciatica, and make you feel like the exercise is not for you.?

Rest assured, if you’re finding the deadbug causing you more sciatica, then this fix will instantly help you do the deadbug correctly by eliminating this simple and common error.

To watch the full video click here.

The main mistake that worsens your sciatica when doing a deadbug

This mistake comes down to a lack of proper control, unknowingly allowing the spine to move into either extension as the legs begin to move, or flattening the spine before you’ve even begun! The deadbug exercise is a vital movement that is designed to develop your control over your spine and prevent it from moving if you do not want it to. But so many with back pain or sciatica lack this vital skill, this is part of the reason why the sciatica hasn’t resolved itself!

This is true for thousands of members and patients we’ve seen over the years, if you have had a longstanding history of sciatica, it is reasonable to expect you lack this skill!

Uncontrolled arching of your low back

This is a simple one, as the legs either come up to the tabletop or go out, you lose control of your core, especially the lower core, your belly rises as your back arches, pinching on the roots of your sciatic nerve. Often this causes immediate sharp pain either in the low back or down the leg.

Subconscious flattening of your low back

This error is most common in those who’ve tried pilates or yoga over the years, primarily because of previous engagement cues, you flatten your spine to the floor “flexing the lumbar spine, stretching the back fibres of the disc. This helps you “game the system” although this might not cause immediate pain in the same way as the arching, it can often result in soreness afterwards.

Correcting the mistake and fixing your sciatica

Both of these errors have the same root cause, a failure to control and maintain neutral in the spine. A skill that needs to be learned in order to properly recover from sciatica. Without it the dead bug is the least of your worries as any other exercises will be ineffective or at the very least, significantly more risky as you lack a simple ability to control the spine.

The fix here is simple and requires no specialist equipment, just a small rolled towel, placed in the hollow between your lower back and the floor.

How to fix your deadbug

When you lie on your back to do the deadbug there should be a hollow between your low back and the floor. Your bum should be touching and your middle back touching but your lumbar spine should form an arching bridge, this is the neutral position of the lumbar spine and is normal. Depending on the amount of muscle and fat in the area you will have a greater or lesser gap here, so roll a towel to simply fill this gap and provide contact to that low back arch.

The towel is your sensor now. Much like parking sensors or a reversing camera on your car, the towel gives you additional feedback. It will start by setting you in the normal neutral position, so as you engage your core muscles if you feel your back press into the towel, you know you’re accidentally “flattening your spine” or “pelvic tucking”. Retry this in a way that does not flatten your back. Doing so eliminates the second error discussed above.?

Next, with your core properly engaged, begin the exercise. If at any point you feel the pressure of your back on the towel decrease, you know that you’re losing control and allowing the back to arch. The early warning signs that you’ve lost control and committed the first error we mentioned, arching the back. As this happens you must then reduce the range of the rep to the point at which you do not feel any spinal movement.?

This can be quite humbling.?

Note: if you struggle to engage the core correctly without accidentally doing a pelvic tilt check out the “candle drill for core engagement tutorial” which will teach you how to correct this.

The dead bug for sciatica rehabilitation

Ultimately the deadbug is a great exercise and this is just one aspect of the movement that will hopefully help you immediately eliminate the pain you experience when doing this exercise and start to benefit from it instead. For a more in depth tutorial on the deadbug exercise for back rehabilitation is a great video to check out now and get a solid pathway forwards. This exercise is one of the safest for those with lower back pain and sciatica to develop the basic spine control in preparation for the necessary next step, weight bearing rehab, but you need to get it right. Doing so will help you get your back in shape much faster and with much less in the way of flare ups along the way. Remember if you’re struggling with lower back pain or sciatica, we also have the full “Fixing back pain masterclass” an 80 minute workshop style video to help guide you through the rehab process from home. There is also the membership to the full Back In Shape Program, where we help guide members from around the world through the process of fixing their back pain and supporting them as they get their Back In Shape for good, you can learn more about this using the link.