Simple Help For Sciatica Treatment Acupuncture, Stretching, and Massage

spinal stenosis

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It is made up of a bundle of smaller nerves, starting at the lumbar spine and traveling down the buttocks, and through the leg. Sciatica is not actually disease (Tell that to someone with sciatica!) but a group of symptoms that affect the region of the sciatic nerve. The radiating pain and numbness are associated with sciatica are very quite common often are very intense and the tingling can start in the lower back and may radiate down the leg.

What Causes Sciatica?

Sciatica happens when something pushes on the sciatic nerve-- a muscle spasm, the spinal discs, and sometimes even the spine itself can cause sciatica. Most often this pain is due to muscle spasms or a slipped disc, but it can also be a sign of serious illness and it is important to go to you doctor for a diagnosis. The severe cases which require immediate medical attention are spinal stenosis, or a narrowing of the spinal canal, and spinal tumors.

But most often, sciatica is not caused by a serious life threatening problem, just a problem that causes some serious and debilitating pain. Spinal Disc herniation, often referred to as a slipped disc, is when a small portion of the spinal disc bulges out of the spinal column. When the disc pushes on the sciatic nerve, it causes pain.

Muscle spasms are also a common cause of sciatica with the piriformis muscle is often being the main culprit. The sciatic nerve runs under or, in some people, through the piriformis muscle. This muscle is located in the pelvis. It is connected to the bottom of the spine and the top of the femur, or thighbones. If the piriformis muscle starts to spasm or becomes tight, it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve and cause the pain as well as the radiating symptoms. This persistent spasm of the piriformis muscle is called piriformis syndrome. It can be caused by an injury or sedentary lifestyles in people who don't stretch or exercise. Particularly if you sit all day at a desk or computer, this can be a problem.

What is the best way to treat sciatica?

It is best to approach sciatica using combination style treatment. As an acupuncturist, I may combine acupuncture, Tui Na (Chinese medical massage,) cupping, electric stimulation, and stretching for an effective treatment. The back, hip, and pelvis are very interconnected and the treatment should incorporate all of them. Overall, the treatment should relax and stretch the tendons and fascia while strengthening the muscles. This will help release the spastic muscles and strengthen them, allowing the back to naturally heal. It can even encourage an out of place disc to go back into place, depending on severity.

Acupuncture will help to reprogram the muscles to stay relaxed. In effect, this is working to help the body heal itself. Chinese massage, or tui na, works to foster the acupuncture by releasing any extra tension in the fascia and connective tissue around the muscles. The technique called rolling is very important to deeply relax the muscles and improve circulation at the same time.

After the pain is gone, it is important for you to keep up you own back. Stretching is essential. Stretching will help keep the muscles healthy and relaxed. And it is the best way for you to maintain your own back. Also, doing tai chi, the Chinese exercise and meditation, is very effective to strengthen the lower back and relax it.

Is Traditional Chinese acupuncture's approach to sciatica different from other approaches?

Yes. Chinese medicine states that the body is interconnected; no one part can be separated from another. The diagnosis and treatment is based upon identifying specific imbalances in the muscles and the body as a whole. Correcting the imbalance does not just treat the symptoms or mask the condition, but rather corrects the root of the problem by encouraging self-healing of the body. Some other forms of acupuncture will just treat the imbalance in the channels. A more effective long term approach is treating the underlying imbalance, which may be causing the qi and blood to stagnate.

The most common imbalance in acute sciatica is qi and blood stagnation in the back channels. Qi and blood stagnation in the channels often affects the soft tissue of the lumbar, hips, and pelvis. This is what causes the muscle spasm and tension that triggers the intense shooting pain of acute sciatica. The acupuncture diagnosis should address specifically which channels are stagnated, or have no flow, and increase the circulation in them.

At the same time, the treatment should address underlying imbalances which may be kidney qi vacuity, spleen qi vacuity with dampness, or liver qi stagnation. By treating the underlying imbalance, you can prevent the sciatica from returning. Chinese medicine and Western medicine often use the same names for the organs, but an imbalance in the Chinese liver or kidney does not mean an imbalance in the Western medicine organ. Don't worry.

Kidney qi vacuity may occur when your back feels very weak and and tight, but it does not get better with rest. Other symptoms include weakness of the knees, extreme fatigue, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and a weak pulse. For those with spleen qi vacuity with dampness, you will also have fatigue and weakness, but the back feels better with rest. Your body may feel very heavy and you may have poor digestion. Liver qi stagnation causes your muscles to be very tight and in spasm when you become angry or frustrated. Also, you may suffer from frequent headaches and, in women, painful menses.

So the treatment is simple. Correct the imbalances and relax the muscles to reduce pain, and do regular exercises and stretching prevent the pain from coming back!