Can the symptoms of sciatica be managed with acupuncture?
Sciatica is an extremely prevalent form of pain throughout the country. In fact, according to Harvard, as many as 40% of adults will suffer from sciatica at some point during their lives. This becomes more frequent as a person gets older.
Many people get relief from sciatica with the use of pain pills and medical treatments. But in recent years, more and more sufferers have been turning to alternative treatments to relieve their pain. Today, we’re going to discuss the basics of sciatica and how acupuncture can help relieve its devastating effects.
What Is Sciatica and What Causes It?
The sciatic nerve runs down either one or both legs from your lower back. When this nerve has been pinched or otherwise damaged, you’ll experience severe pain that often occurs on only one side of your body.
Sciatica is typically caused by a herniated disc or bone spur in the spine that presses on the sciatic nerve. Other common causes and potential risk factors for sciatica include gaining excess body weight, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and spondylolisthesis. It’s also common in those who have careers where prolonged sitting or carrying of heavy loads occurs. Given the increase in desk and delivery jobs, you can see why this has become such a hot topic.
Does Acupuncture Help Sciatica?
Traditional Chinese medicine views the body as an interconnected entity. It approaches the treatment of sciatica by identifying specific imbalances that are occurring in your muscles and body as a whole. The insertion of acupuncture needles will correct this imbalance by encouraging self-healing in the body. For sciatica in particular, acupuncture focuses on blood stagnation and related imbalances.
Here’s a quick look at how acupuncture can help treat sciatica:
Stimulates Nerves
One of the most beneficial effects of acupuncture is that it’s used to stimulate your body’s central nervous system. This causes a release of endorphins and other neurological effects, in addition to causing changes in the way that your brain and spinal cord process pain. In many instances, this will greatly reduce the pain felt from sciatica.
Releases Endorphins
As mentioned above, acupuncture helps to release endorphins. In case you’re not aware, endorphins are a group of hormones that can effectively block the perception of pain while also increasing a person’s sense of wellbeing and pleasure. This release of endorphins is essential in nearly every type of acupuncture treatment.
Improves Stiffness
The stiffness of muscles and joints is a primary problem with sciatica. There are many different types of exercises that can be used to improve stiffness, but few have been found to be as effective as acupuncture. In an acupuncture treatment, stiffness relief is a result of increased circulation, which aids in the reduction of swelling.
Improves Mobility
Sciatica can severely dampen a person’s mobility, making it much harder for them to get around and perform even the simplest of tasks. The local microcirculation of blood flow created by a series of acupuncture treatments can improve your joints’ mobility. Just like with the reduction of stiffness, this occurs because of a dispersal of swelling caused by acupuncture.
Increases Serotonin
Serotonin is a chemical that plays a key role in a variety of your body’s functions, including mood, sleep, digestion, healing, bone health, blood clotting, etc. Acupuncture has been shown to increase levels of serotonin and noradrenaline, which can help in the reduction of pain along with speeding up nerve repair. This can be very effective in alleviating the pain felt from sciatica.
Promotes Regeneration
Suffering from sciatica is often like being on a roller coaster. You’ll suffer great pains for a while, but then the sciatic nerve will regenerate over a series of weeks. Then you’ll feel much better. Acupuncture has been shown to promote the regeneration of the sciatic nerve, which means that it will be repaired in a shorter amount of time.
What You Can Expect During a Session
Prior to your first session, you’ll have a detailed consultation with the acupuncturist. They’ll go over multiple details concerning your sciatica, including any treatments that you’re currently under and medications you’re taking. This is very important because they’ll need to know if you’re taking medications, such as those that raise your serotonin levels, which may lead to a particular tactic for each acupuncture treatment to ensure safety and wellbeing.
Once the treatment begins, very thin acupuncture needles are inserted into specific points of your body known to relieve the pain and other effects of sciatica. You may feel pressure or a slight pinch at the site of each needle insertion, but the feeling will quickly dissipate. After the session has concluded, the acupuncturist will provide you with follow-up details and answer any questions that you might have.
Contact East West Healing Solutions for Acupuncture in Palm Harbor
East West Healing Solutions is a leader in acupuncture in Palm Harbor and the surrounding areas. If you have any questions similar to “Does acupuncture help sciatica?” or have any other physical, mental, or emotional issues that you’d like us to treat, give us a call at (727) 216-3972 today.
