According to a study, approximately 40% of the population experience sciatica in the US. Yes! Sciatica is very common around the globe!
However, the good news is, many treatment options are available to reduce sciatica symptoms. And acupuncture for sciatica is one among them!
Sciatica acupuncture is an ideal and safest way to treat sciatica with no major side effects and complications.
Plus, neither do you have to gulp a bunch of medicines, nor do you have to have surgery!
But how does acupuncture relieve pain? Can acupuncture help sciatica? Does acupuncture actually work?
Let’s talk about acupuncture and sciatica in a bit more detail!
Acupuncture for Sciatica
What is Acupuncture?
The term acupuncture literally means needling. It is a Traditional Chinese Medicine therapy in which small needles are pricked inside the skin and tissues.
Does acupuncture help sciatica?
The main goal of acupuncture is to relieve pain. Hence, acupuncture is used to alleviate sciatica nerve pain as well.
Acupuncture for sciatica is a great way to relieve sciatic nerve pain. Though it is an ancient technique and people characterize it as quackery.
However, many people who had acupuncture for nerve pain have gained satisfactory results. But it takes time!
Therefore, we can say that sciatica and acupuncture are a great combo only if you keep patience.
Acupuncture for sciatica nerve pain does not produce effective results overnight. And according to experts, it takes at least 6 to 12 treatments for acupuncture to help heal sciatica.
Acupuncture for Nerve Pain
Note: Remember that you experience nerve pain when there is pinching or compression of the nerves due to any reason.
Acupuncture for a pinched nerve is a great practice to heal sciatica, mostly practiced in China, Japan, and Korea.
How can acupuncture help sciatica pain anyway?
Different theories explain the mechanism of acupuncture for nerve pain. One of such theories focuses on qi (chee) energy.
Qi is well-known as the main source of energy for the human body. TCM believes that the sciatic or any sort of pain originates from the imbalance in this energy flow.
Therefore, acupuncture for sciatica helps regain the normal flow of qi energy which soothes the sciatica nerve pain.
Moreover, acupuncture for nerve pain or sciatica acupuncture shrinks the recovery period of sciatica nerve injury. This will lead to better and more effective results.
How Does Acupuncture Relieve Pain
How does acupuncture relieve pain?
No matter for what reason you are taking acupuncture treatment, its mechanism and the way it affects the body and brain remain the same.
The only difference is in the points where your therapist will insert the needles. And this depends on the origin of pain.
Similarly, in acupuncture for sciatica nerve pain, there are specific acupoints that your acupuncturist would know.
These specific acupoints when pricked by the needles, stimulate the nerve endings which results in;
- Regeneration of motor and sensory nerve fibers
- Release of endorphins and enkephalins from nerve endings which in turn relieve pain.
- Enhancement of blood flow
- Relaxation of the muscles
Does acupuncture work for sciatica?
There is no doubt in accepting the fact that acupuncture for sciatica is one of the best treatment options. It is even better for people who hate medicines and are afraid of surgery.
So, unless it’s an advanced case of sciatica, acupuncture works very well for sciatica pain relief.
What Are the Acupuncture Points for Sciatica
Knowing about the specific acupuncture points for sciatica is important only if you want expertise in this field.
So far, we have made it look easy. Now coming to the most crucial part of acupuncture for sciatica, that is, the pressure or acupoints for sciatica pain relief.
We know that the sciatic nerve has the largest supply among all the nerves in the body. It is located at the lower border of piriformis muscles in the gluteal region.
Hence, this area has great significance in relieving pain caused by L5 and S1 nerve root compression.
Below are a few points of acupuncture for nerve pain (L4/L5);
- BL25 (Dachangshu) at the lower border of L4.
- BL26 (Guanyuanshu) at the inferior border of L5.
- ST40 (Fenglong) at the anterolateral side of the leg.
- BL58 (Friyang) at the posterolateral aspect of the leg.
- GB35 (Yangjiao) behind or posterior to the fibula.
- ST42 (Chongyang) on the upper part of the foot; in between second metatarsal and cuneiform bones.
- LR3 (Taichong) on the dorsum of foot; in between first and second metatarsal bones.
Following are the other points for acupuncture for sciatica pain relief (L5/S1);
- BL26 (Guanyuanshu) at lower part of L5.
- BL27 (Xiaochangsu) and BL31 (Shangliao) at the level of the posterior sacral foramen.
- BL59 (Fuyang) on the posterolateral side of the leg
- BL60 (Kunlun) posterolateral to the ankle
- GB41 (Zulinqi) on the dorsum of the foot.
Acupuncture for Pinched Nerve
Acupuncture for a pinched nerve treats pain and other sciatica symptoms if done the right way.
Note: It’s not only about inserting the thin needles in the skin, there is a whole science behind acupuncture for a pinched nerve!
That’s right!
We all know that sciatica begins in the lower back and extends down to the feet. Basically, you experience sciatica pain along the regions supplied by the sciatic nerve.
Now there are designated acupuncture points for sciatica, that if stimulated help relieves the pain. These acupoints are connected via channels known as Meridians.
What your therapist has to do is to unblock these pathways or meridians to release pressure off the pinched nerves. This will restore the normal blood flow, reducing the muscle tension.
Moreover, experts believe that unblocking the meridians; results in the release of dopamine and serotonin (the happy hormones) which leads to a decrease in sciatic pain.
Hence, it’s pretty clear that acupuncture for sciatica does a lot more to your body than you know and see.
Acupuncture and Sciatica
Your therapist has to act very carefully while selecting the points in acupuncture for sciatica.
The acupuncturist selects the acupoint based on pain, origin, and location when performing acupuncture for sciatica pain.
Furthermore, sciatica acupuncture leaves a long-term effect on the body if it’s done the correct way. There are other benefits of acupuncture of nerve pain as well, for instance;
- It takes lesser time
- There is no need for medications
- It’s safe
- It’s comfortable
- You can avoid surgery
In short, acupuncture and sciatica make an excellent duo when treating nerve pain caused by a pinched nerve.
Can Acupuncture Help Sciatica
Can acupuncture help nerve pain?
From the above discussion, we can proudly say that acupuncture for nerve pain is a very healthy technique for sciatic patients.
According to Healthcare Medicine Institute, acupuncture for sciatica has a success rate of 81.6% overall. And if teamed up with herbal medicines, acupuncture for sciatic pain relief becomes 95% effective.
Chiropractor Acupuncture
A chiropractor deals with musculoskeletal disorders, especially that of the spine. And acupuncture means using thin needles to relieve sciatic pain.
Chiropractor Acupuncture helps you to experience the best of both worlds.
So, chiropractor acupuncture means the experts manually adjust the spine and put needles in the skin to help relax the muscles and recover faster.
For the people who are willing to go for both acupuncture and chiropractic, you can contact a chiropractor who is an expert in both fields.
Acupuncture and Chiropractic
Note: You can’t choose between acupuncture and chiropractic solely based on which one you like the best. It depends on your health and what your therapist thinks is the best for your body.
Acupuncture for sciatic works great in mild to moderate cases of sciatic nerve pain. But for later stages, you would want to contact a chiropractor to help you make a treatment plan.
FAQs
YES! Acupuncture for sciatica is one of the best techniques to relieve sciatic nerve pain. It increases localized blood flow and enhances muscle relaxation to help in nerve pain.
Sciatica acupuncture works wonders. Sciatica and acupuncture make the best combination for a drug-free and no-surgery life. Furthermore, it has little to no complications and no long-term side effects.
Conclusion
How does acupuncture help sciatica?
In short, acupuncture for sciatica has pain-relieving properties for sciatic nerve pain. Not only that, but acupuncture for sciatica nerve pain also speeds up the process of recovery from sciatica. Moreover, the effectiveness of acupuncture for sciatica pain relief also depends on an acupuncturist’s expertise. Only then you will have fruitful results.