Sciatica

What is Sciatica?

It is indicated by pain radiating to the foot from lumbar region, buttocks, posterior side of the thigh and lateral side of the legs. The pain can be felt from a mild ache to incapacitating pain. This pain is usually unilateral and will be aggravated when the waist is bent or the lower limbs are moved. The pain can be accompanied by numbness, tingling and muscular weakness in the leg.

What are the causes?

One of the most common causes of Sciatica is a herniated disk or ruptured disk. Any one of the five pair’s lumbar nerve roots is compressed by a ruptured disk that can cause pain. At the same time the chemicals from the gelatinous centre also irritate the nerve root and cause inflammation.

According to TCM theory, it is divided into primary and secondary types. It is mainly caused by exogenous pathogenic wind, cold and dampness that block the qi and blood to go through the meridians; or by asthenia of kidney qi and malnutrition of meridians; or by trauma, sprain and contusion and stagnation of qi and blood in meridians.


What can we do?

An effective treatment for sciatica is to combine acupuncture therapy with remedial massage treatment. The normal treatment term include ten visits each consisting of 30 minutes of acupuncture and 30 minutes massage. Most Sciatica gets better within a few weeks after doesn’t result in permanent damage. It is necessary to seek medical attention if the pain doesn’t go away.


What acupoints will be selected?

Each time 6-10 acupoints will be selected according to the different syndromes in the following acupoints. 3-5 Lumbar Jiaji(Ex-B2), Ashi points, Huantiao(GB30), Yanglingquan(GB34), For obstruction by cold-dampness, Yaoyangguan(GV3), Dachangshu(BL25), Zhibian(BL54), Chengfu(BL36), Changshan(BL57), Kunlun(BL60) are added, for stagnation of qi and blood, Shuigou(GV26) and Weizhong(BL40).