How Does Acupuncture for Sciatica Help Relieve Pain?
With a deeper understanding of the source of your back pain, you can get relief from an often debilitating condition. In this educational article our experts explain how Chinese medicine and acupuncture for sciatica can help improve your quality of life.
What is sciatica and what causes it?
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body, and it runs from your lower back down through your buttocks and legs. It helps connect to muscles, blood vessels and other nerves all along its path. Sciatica is the feeling of tingling, numbness or pain that comes from compression of one or more lumbar nerves, most commonly the ones that come out through the buttocks and go down each leg to terminate in your feet.
Inside the vertebrae there is hard disk material. The vertebral disks work as shock absorbers, keeping your spine flexible while supporting a lot of weight and pressure. Occasionally, hard pieces of the inner disk can break off and push through the outer coverings that protect them. We call this a herniated disk or ruptured disk. This ruptured disk causes a lot of pain to shoot down your leg.
What are the symptoms of sciatica?
The main symptom of sciatica is a lot of pain that comes from the lower back and shoots down one leg. Pain can also travel into your buttocks and feet. Your leg may feel weak or "dead" because the nerve is not functioning properly. Just moving around can be uncomfortable, even while sitting still. You may have difficulty sleeping, as the sciatica pain keeps waking you up. Your leg may also feel warm or even hurt to the touch.
As your sciatica gets worse, you might notice nerve pain in unexpected areas. Eventually, you might find that your thigh and/or calf muscles start to get weak as well, and this can make walking difficult if not impossible.
People who get sciatica pain in both legs often have to use a cane or crutches when walking.
The symptoms of sciatica vary a lot from person to person. In most cases, though, symptoms start out mild and get worse over time. Some people have chronic sciatica and have flare-ups of pain for years.
How does acupuncture for sciatica work to help relieve pain?
Acupuncture for sciatica works by stimulating specific points on the skin with needles to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve, which reduces inflammation and pain. Acupuncture is especially effective for sciatica because it can address the root cause of the problem.
Treating the inflammation on its own might seem to help, but because it does not correct the underlying problem, sciatica can come back soon after treatment ends. Repeating successful actions is the key to keep sciatica symptoms away.
Is acupuncture effective for sciatica pain relief?
Yes, Chinese medicine and acupuncture are both highly effective at relieving sciatica pain. Not only do they treat the inflammation around the nerve, they can also address the underlying problem that is causing the sciatic pain. Acupuncture uses natural herbal formulas to both treat and prevent future flare-ups. By properly addressing the underlying problem with acupuncture, you can prevent future pain from recurring. Acupuncture can even help reduce the amount of pain you have and speed up your recovery after a flare-up.
The benefits of using acupuncture to treat sciatica:
Acupuncture for sciatica is very beneficial because it can treat the underlying cause of pain by removing toxins from your body and toning your muscles. Unlike other methods, acupuncture does not involve harsh or invasive treatments; instead, acupuncturists use fine needles to pierce the skin and stimulate specific areas of your body in order to remove excess water, blood and toxins. Because of this, acupuncture is highly beneficial in relieving sciatica pain while also improving your overall health.
What acupuncture points are used to treat sciatica?
The main acupuncture points used in sciatica treatment are kidney 1 (KI 1) and gall bladder 20 (GB 20), which are both found on your lower back. Another point that is commonly found in sciatica treatments is spleen 6 (SP 6). SP 6 is located on the center of your palm, and it can treat sciatica that runs from the lower back along the whole leg. In most cases, SP 6 will be paired with either KI 1 or GB 20 in a treatment for sciatica.
The entire treatment takes between 20-40 minutes. The points are stimulated using very fine needles from different angles and depths to avoid damaging sensitive areas.
Who can use acupuncture for sciatica treatment?
Anyone can use acupuncture to treat sciatica. This includes both men and women, regardless of age or current health status. Acupuncture can treat the root cause of sciatica, so it doesn't matter if you've had sciatica for a long time or just had a recent injury. Acupuncture can treat sciatica from any of its causes, as well as the symptoms and any resulting pain.
How often do I need to come in for treatments?
Generally speaking, your acupuncturist will want you to come in once a week for the first month and then switch over to monthly visits. After about six to eight weeks, your sciatica should be reduced by at least half. Even if you still experience some pain, acupuncture should help keep it under control and make it easier for you to manage.
Acupuncture for sciatica pain relief can start to work after just 1 or 2 sessions. You may not see the full results of your treatment until about 6-8 weeks. However, most patients begin to feel a lot better within the first two weeks.
How much does acupuncture cost?
Acupuncture is a very affordable solution when compared with other treatments for sciatica. Generally speaking, a typical acupuncture session costs about $75-$100 USD per treatment. Community acupuncture is a more accessible and affordable option that varies in cost. Many community clinics are based on financial hardship or grants.
Acupuncture is a non-invasive, holistic approach that can help with various medical conditions and pain relief. It's important to maintain an acupuncture plan designed by your physician so you can get the best results. We offer many different services in our office, including classes for beginners! Stop by Plantation today or give us a call at (954) 408-8224. If you have any questions about your community acupuncture, AcuMantras, we're happy to help answer them!