Berkeley Acupuncture Sciatica

SCIATICA ACUPUNCTURE

Sciatica is pain, numbness, or tingling in the leg, hip, lower back, or buttock thought to be caused by compression of the sciatic nerve.

Sciatica is probably the most common treatment performed at Shen Clinic. Nearly every day we treat several people with sciatica. There are at least two reasons for this. First, acupuncture can be dramatically effective at treating and often curing sciatica. Second, Western medicine is so inadequate in treating it.

To acuuncturists, sciatica is usually caused by constrained flow of qi (energy). Where as an Western medicine is focused on the sciatic nerve, acupuncturists and practitioners of Oriental medicine are focused on the energetic flow along that nerve. This flow is usually constrained in the lower back, sometimes because of an anatomical problem, such as a disc swelling, posture or a soft tissue injury . Sometimes no anatomical cause is found. In these cases the cause is usually constraint of qi due to tension in the back or leg.

Sciatica is considered a "cold condition" in Traditional Chinese medicine, because it is the result of inhibited flow. Therefore, no matter what your MD, chiropractor, or physical therapist recommends, we believe that cold should never be applied in cases of sciatica. We use acupuncture, moxabustion, massage, and herbs to relieve sciatica.