Relief from Sciatica

I’ve been suffering with some sciatica recently as a result of pregnancy- so I thought I’d share with you how acupuncture has helped relieve this pain. It’s a form of nerve inflammation and getting rid of inflammation is one of the things that acupuncture does best.

Sciatica is a common disorder that Simon comes across, and is by no means limited to pregnant ladies. It has several possible causes and these may lead to different treatments, so we use the term sciatica to describe a set of symptoms. These may include back pain but there may be only hip, leg pain or even foot pain. Sometimes there is minimal pain and the patient mostly suffers from numbness or tingling, we call paresthesia. There may be leg weakness or coldness. There may be aching, stabbing or burning pains. There may be spasms, shooting pain or the leg may give out causing a fall.

Some of the more common causes of sciatica include the idea of the nerve getting pinched. Nerves hate to be placed under pressure, which can cause the nerve to become inflamed. When the inflammation causes the nerve to malfunction, the pain is off the scale. Luckily my pain wasn’t of this order, but I did have aching, numbness and tingling in my left leg.

Dealing with the root cause

Sitting posture often has a profound effect on sciatica. Sitting is a very un-natural and potentially injurious. It’s really hard on the back with tremendous strain placed on the low back and hips especially when slouching. Correcting sitting posture through maintaining a lumbar curve can help to overcome sciatica. A lumbar support can help stop slouching if you do spend a lot of the day sat down.

Intervention

There are several different options open to patients to help relieve the symptoms of sciatica: spinal manipulation, hot or cold packs, massage, stretching and strengthening exercises, as well as injections of various types.

Whatever treatment you decided to progress with it is of paramount importance to figure out why the nerve is inflamed in the first place. It is also important to try out the most effective and conservative modalities first.

For this purpose acupuncture is unrivalled. It is without risk, highly effective and not difficult to endure, as it is painless. Admittedly it doesn’t always work, but when it does as it did for me, the relief comes quickly and often results in a permanent solution.

Have a look at this video about acupuncture for sciatica.