Category: Spine | Author: Stefano Sinicropi | Date: December 22, 2025
Many people with sciatica are told by their physician that losing just a little weight can go a long way in decompressing the affected nerve and relieving symptoms. However, losing weight while you’re dealing with sciatica is no easy task. Odds are your nerve discomfort is making it hard to move comfortably, and regular movement or exercise is a cornerstone of losing weight. So how can you work towards your weight loss goals in spite of your current sciatic nerve discomfort? In today’s blog, we share some tips for losing weight if you have sciatica.
Losing Weight With Sciatic Nerve Impingement
Losing weight is one of the first recommendations many providers suggest to overweight or obese patients dealing with sciatic nerve irritation. Weight loss can help to decompress the nerve, whereas continued weight gain will only likely exacerbate symptoms. We know that losing weight is never easy, and that difficulty is ratcheted up a few notches if you’re trying to shed some weight while dealing with sciatica symptoms. If you want to give it your best shot despite your sciatica symptoms, here’s what we recommend.
- Pursue Comfortable Movement-Based Activities – If you’re dealing with moderate to severe sciatic nerve compression symptoms, certain high impact or intense physical activities may be out of the question. Running, box jumps or cycling may only serve to worsen symptoms, but know that those aren’t the only types of exercise you can pursue. Find a way to move comfortably and pursue this activity regularly. Whether that’s walking around the block or doing a water-based aerobic workout at the local pool a couple of times a week, find a way to stay active, as this will help burn calories and get your sciatic nerve more comfortable with certain movement patterns.
- Really Take Stock Of Your Diet – Sciatica may be affecting your energy output, but it should have no influence on your calorie intake. Any successful diet will be built on regular exercise and dietary improvements, so really take stock of what you’re putting in your body and make some adjustments to ensure you’re not overeating or consuming too many empty calories. Strive for healthy options like fresh fruit, leafy vegetables, whole grains, fatty fish and lean proteins. Exercise alone won’t help you lose weight, you’ll also need to overhaul your diet.
- Really Focus On Your Posture – Your posture plays an important role in your sciatic nerve health, as poor posture can put extra strain on your lower back or overwhelm discs that proceed to shift and irritate your sciatic nerve. And while your posture may not directly impact your weight loss goals, it certainly can indirectly affect it. If you have poor posture, you’re more likely to experience sciatica symptoms, which can make it harder for you to achieve your exercise goals. Even if you aren’t experiencing symptoms, bad posture habits can be physically draining, in turn making you feel more fatigued and less likely to have the energy to commit to regular exercise or healthy eating habits. Check on your posture throughout the day and make improvements if you notice you’re getting out of alignment, and odds are you’ll have a little more energy at the end of the day for healthy habits.
- Write Down Your Goals – A final tip we’ll share to anyone hoping to lose some weight in the new year is to write down your goals and put this message somewhere you’ll see it every day. It’s easy to commit to losing weight in your head and then eventually let those plans fall by the wayside, but if you see a sticky note on your mirror every single day reminding you to exercise, or you leave a note in the pantry reminding you of your eating goals, you’re more likely to stick to your plan and achieve your weight loss goals. Write down your goals, make sure they are attainable and put those goals somewhere you’ll see them regularly so your goals are never far from your mind.
We want you to be able to put your sciatic nerve pain behind you and hit your weight loss goals. If we can help with any part of this process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and his team. From a comprehensive diagnosis to an individualized treatment plan, we’re here to help you overcome your back pain. For more information, give the team at Midwest Spine & Brain Institute a call today at (651) 430-3800.
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