22/09/2026
🪑⚡ “I’ve changed my chair. I’ve bought a lumbar cushion. I stand up regularly. But if I sit for long enough, the pain starts travelling down my leg again.” ⚡
If that sounds familiar, the problem may not simply be that you are sitting too much.
It may be that nobody has properly established why certain sitting positions are provoking your sciatic symptoms in the first place.
This matters because an office chair, car seat and sofa can place your pelvis, hips and lumbar spine in very different positions.
One person may tolerate sitting upright reasonably well but struggle badly in the car. 🚗
Another may manage driving but find that twenty minutes on a soft sofa brings on pain, tingling or numbness down the leg.
And somebody else may find that almost any prolonged sitting position aggravates their symptoms.
There is no single “perfect sitting position” for everyone with sciatica.
That is exactly why generic advice such as “sit up straight” or simply buying another ergonomic chair often fails to solve the problem.
I’ve written a detailed guide explaining the practical changes that can help reduce unnecessary irritation when sitting with sciatica, including:
→ Office and desk positioning 💻
→ Car and driving position 🚗
→ Sofa positioning 🛋️
→ Hip and knee position
→ Lumbar support
→ Position changes and sitting duration
→ Common mistakes that may aggravate symptoms
→ Important warning signs that require appropriate medical assessment ⚠️
You can read the full guide here:
https://www.personaltrainingmaster.co.uk/best-sitting-positions-for-sciatica-office-car-and-sofa-guide
But there is an important distinction.
Making sitting more comfortable is not the same thing as rehabilitating the underlying problem.
If your sciatica has become persistent, keeps returning, or is beginning to dictate how long you can work, drive, walk, exercise or even sit comfortably with your family, I would want to understand much more than which chair you use.
I would like to understand:
your diagnosis and spinal history,
how and when the symptoms began,
whether there is an identified disc injury,
where the pain, tingling or numbness travels,
which movements aggravate or reduce it,
any neurological symptoms,
your strength and movement capacity,
your posture and loading patterns,
your daily sitting exposure,
and how your body responds as movement and load are introduced progressively.
For around 15 years, a major part of my work has involved helping people affected by herniated discs, sciatica and complex spinal problems return to stronger, more confident movement.
This approach is assessment-led and physiotherapy supported. 🔍
We do not start by giving somebody a standard collection of “back exercises”.
We first establish what appears to be limiting them, what can be safely changed, what may need further investigation, and which physical capacities need to be rebuilt.
Only then does rehabilitation become progressively more specific.
If you are based in London and sciatica is repeatedly interfering with your work, driving, walking, training or normal daily life, read the guide first.
If your sciatica has been persistent, keeps returning, or you have already tried the usual advice without resolving the problem, and you feel you now need a more comprehensive and individual approach, you can send me a private message with:
SCIATICA 📩
together with:
• your age
• how long you have had the problem
• any diagnosis or scan findings you already have
• where your symptoms travel
• your London postcode
I personally review each enquiry before deciding whether the case is suitable for the type of rehabilitation work I provide.
Jazz Alessi
Founder, Personal Training Master
