Nerve Flossing May Help Ease Pain—Here's How It Works and What Experts Want You to Know

2 min readI’m noticing more friends flossing lately. But it’s not a surge in dental hygiene—instead, it’s a way to improve nerve health and move freely. Nerve flossing (or gliding) is a stretching technique that’s easily done on your own and is said to relieve a host of symptoms.How it works: Nerves get compressed by surrounding tissue—creating sensations like pain, numbness, or tingling—and nerve flossing is a way to free and get them moving, says Shannon Leggett, a New York City–based physical therapist. “Think of it like a dynamic stretch for the nerve,” she adds. Essentially, you’re carefully and mindfully moving the joints around the target nerve. (In practice, it looks a lot like stretching, but with even slower and more specific movements.)Ahead, physical therapists on mobilizing your nervous system with this technique and what to know before you give it a go…Nerve flossing is not the same as stretching.Both modalities help improve range of motion (and are important!). But there are nuances to each. For example, in a static hamstring stretch, you apply tension through the full length of the muscle—in this case, pulling your extended leg to its limit and holding to target the hamstring muscle. When flossing, say, the sciatic nerve (which runs along the leg), you pull one knee toward the chest; extend leg up and point foot; then bend knee and flex foot.Nerve flossing doesn’t mean pushing to your end range. Instead, you put tension on one end of the nerve while adding slack to the other—this is key.Nerves are delicate, and their main function is communication, so pushing them to or beyond their limit can aggravate aches, Leggett notes. Muscles are made for moving and can take more strain than nerves.Though it’s safe to do on your own, you really should start with a professional. Nerve flossing is common PT homework that doesn’t require equipment. So, yes, anyone can do it at home—but you may not need it or really know what areas to focus on. That’s where working with a physical therapist comes in, so you can do it properly.“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to nerve pain,” says Morgan Sileo, DPT, an orthopedic clinical specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery. And gliding the wrong nerves could make the prob even worse. Ouch.Nerve flossing doesn’t have to hurt in order for it to work. The goal of nerve flossing, when done properly and in the right area, is to diminish pain and discomfort. Targeting your nervous system is different from massage or foam rolling (where a little eek is okay) due to the very delicate nature of the nerve tissue.If pain happens and symptoms intensify, become more frequent, or extend farther down the arm or leg away from the spine—a sign of increased nerve tension—that’s a flag to press pause. You may need to adjust your technique or modify your range of motion, says Sileo (which is where pro guidance is clutch again) to finesse your form so you can focus on healing.Women's Health Challenges | Workout PlansJennifer Nied is the fitness editor at Women's Health and has more than 10 years of experience in health and wellness journalism. She's always out exploring—sweat-testing exercises and gear, hiking, snowboarding, running, and more—with her husband, daughter, and dog.