Acupuncture for Sciatica Management

Pain can affect us more than we realise. It signals damage, of course, and often whatever is damaged will not work as well as it used to. However, there is more to it than that. The pain itself can be crippling. Our bodies want us to stop when we are in pain, so gathering the willpower to move can be difficult or impossible. Even if the pain is not as intense as to keep us from moving at all, it can distract us and seriously reduce our ability to do daily tasks or live our lives.

When people have serious or chronic pain, even for a relatively short time as is often the case with sciatica, it can throw their entire lives out of alignment. It is important to pursue whatever treatment options make you comfortable to take control of your pain. This can be modern pain medications, but many people have allergies to one or more of those or simply are not happy having to rely on substances for relief. Alternative medicine provides another option, namely acupuncture.

What Exactly is Sciatica?

Sciatica is not a specific condition. Rather, it is a type of pain. This pain starts in the lower back and radiates outward along the sciatic nerve, down into the leg. Usually, sciatica only happens on one side of the body at a time. It is generally caused by pressure on the nerve, often from a herniated disk or bone spur. It can be extremely painful and can also cause numbness in the leg.

The good news is that it does not usually last more than a week to a few weeks, and home care or over the counter pain medications can usually help with the pain until the condition that is causing the sciatica eases up. However, for some, the pain may be too intense to handle in this fashion, even for a short time, and for others, the pain may last longer than that. These are the cases where seeking out further help is necessary.

Using Acupuncture for Sciatica

While the most extreme cases of sciatica may involve surgery to relieve the nerve pressure that is causing the pain, most doctors will try to avoid this in favour of waiting for the condition to resolve itself. In the meantime, one way to help handle the pain is through acupuncture.

The modern medical community widely acknowledges that acupuncture is effective for relieving pain, particularly back pain. This includes chronic nerve pain such as sciatica. Acupuncture treatments tend to increase endorphins and may also change the way the body perceives pain. Both of these effects will cause patients to notice their sciatica less after the treatment. Additionally, a relaxing procedure that allows the patient to mentally put himself or herself first, as acupuncture does, is important for the mental side of self-care. Continuous pain causes a sort of mental fatigue that patients also need to address, and acupuncture can help with this side of the condition as well.

If you are suffering from sciatica and are either unwilling or unable to manage your pain with drugs alone, an acupuncture session can help. As long as you see a licensed acupuncturist, you should come away feeling more energised and with less pain. Modern medical science may not know all the answers about acupuncture, but this is an area where the practice is widely recognised as an effective treatment. If you are dealing with sciatica or other back pain, get relief today by scheduling an acupuncture appointment.

If you live in York & you’d like help to relieve sciatica naturally, contact Tiziana today to schedule an acupuncture appointment.