I have found that my pain from symptomatic tarlov cysts in S1 and S2 increase when I sit down or stand up for extended periods of time (for me these days that's about half an hour or less ) so I'm currently avoiding that. I enjoy long walks with my dog at a good pace but walking through a mall and stuff like that is nearly impossible these days. I do find some pain relief in exercise, just getting my pulse up and using my body seems to help a bit but I avoid any exercises that involve lifting and stuff like that.

My question is - which kind of exercise is sensible to do to not risk making matters worse? What should be avoided?

I attend self-defence classes and have fun with that even though I only participate in half of the things they do but still I do get a blow to the body now and then. Would it be wise to discontinue this kind of exercise or are the risks of worsening the condition minimal?

I have tried googling but haven't found exactly what I was looking for... Thank you in advance for any advice, it'll be greatly appreciated

Dizzy82,

At this point, walking is the only exercise that won't cause a flare-up. Any twisting, bending, lifting or running will only cause you to have pain. I went from hiking, running and lifting every day to just walking now. You will need to make some lifestyle adjustments...at least for now.

Look into surgery...I'm glad I hadd mine.
Kim

I'm experiencing the worst pain from sitting down, standing up and laying down (the latter because of neck pains, laying down relieves the pains from the sacrum but makes other things worse) so I walk around in some kind of limbo from which I can find no refuge except for when I'm getting my pulse up and having fun.. But I'm sure you're right and I just have to come to terms with that. For now Thanks, Kim! I really appreciate it