Sciatica occurs when something pushes on the sciatic nerve.  This can be a muscle spasm, the spinal discs, and sometimes even the spine itself.   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. Technically, sciatica is not a disease, but a group of symptoms that affect the region of the sciatic nerve.  Radiating pain is one of the more common and intense symptoms, there can also be numbness and tingling starting in the lower back radiating down the leg. Furthermore, sciatic nerve compression can be caused by several different types of spinal disorders such as: 1) a herniated disc 2) lumbar spinal stenosis 3) spondylolisthesis 4) trauma 5) piriformis syndrome 6) spinal tumors.

Treating sciatica with acupuncture is helpful because it can really relieve the pain and inflammation within the sciatic nerve. Meiji University of Oriental Medicine did research on the effectiveness of acupuncture on sciatica treatment; they found that acupuncture not only influence humans’ pain inhibitory system, it participates in causing a transient change in sciatic nerve blood blow, including circulation to the cauda equine and nerve root. To further your understanding of how acupuncture relieves sciatic nerve pain: there are important acupuncture points within our back that can effectively trigger the sciatic nerve, thereby decreasing inflammation, numbness and pain.

My approach with acupuncture to treat sciatica is based on my extensive knowledge in Chinese medicine.  My unique acupuncture point selection is designed to improve blood circulation and relax paraspinal muscles, allowing more fluid and nutrients to nourish the disc thereby increase the elasticity of the discs. Such increase in the elasticity of the discs through acupuncture can help reduce the disc protrusion and thus reduce and eliminate the lower back pain. Most of the patients experience substantial sciatica relief after their first treatment!