Acupuncture and Sciatica

By Yeji Lee, LAc

Active Care Chiropractic & Acupuncture

. http://www.activecareclinic.com/

More Acupuncture Articles

Acupuncture and Sciatica

Many people suffer from lower back pain due to various reasons. Some people have problems with their discs; others experience muscle pain after standing for long periods of time. There is one type of specific lower back pain called sciatica, and its symptoms are strange compared to other pains. When you get sciatica, you feel pain in your lower back and this pain radiates to one or both sides of your hip, maybe even to your whole leg, and it feels like an electric shock.

Sciatica refers to the nerve pain from a lumber disc problem or injury to the sciatica nerve. It can also cause cramping in your legs or numbness in your feet. But commonly it feels like an “electric” or “burning” sensation through your sciatica nerve, and it usually gets worse after sitting or standing for long periods of time. It usually gets better after rest.

So how do you deal with sciatica? You can try self-care at first. Stretching is necessary for these symptoms and use an ice pack on the area of pain if it is red or swelling; you can use a hot pack to reduce your pain if there is no redness and swelling. If after 1-2 weeks of self-care you do not see any improvement, you should look for a health provider to treat your pain, such as a physical therapist or acupuncturist.

Acupuncture is one of the most effective treatments for sciatica. Patients usually get better after 2-3 treatments, and they often feel no pain at all after 2-3 sessions of treatments. Patients should come one 1-2 times per week, and 10 treatments are common in one session. This means patients feel less pain after two weeks of treatment and recover after 2-3 months.