What are causes of sciatica?
Firstly of all, what are causes of sciatica? The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body and begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down the lower limb. Sciatica pain is typically felt from the low back to behind the thigh and radiating down below the knee. While sciatica is most commonly a result of a lumbar disc herniation directly pressing on the nerve, any cause of irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve can reproduce the symptoms of sciatica. This irritation of nerves as a result of an abnormal intervertebral disc is referred to as radiculopathy. Aside from a pinched nerve from a disc, other causes of sciatica include irritation of the nerve from adjacent bone, tumors, muscle, internal bleeding, infections, injury, and other causes. Sometimes sciatica can occur because of irritation of the sciatic nerve during pregnancy.
What are sciatica symptoms?
Sciatica causes pain, a burning sensation, numbness, or tingling radiating from the lower back and upper buttock down the back of the thigh to the back of the leg. The result is lumbar pain, buttock pain, hip pain, and leg pain. Sometimes the pain radiates around the hip or buttock to feel like hip pain. While sciatica is often associated with lower back pain (lumbago), it can be present without low back pain. Severe sciatica can make walking difficult if not impossible. Sometimes the symptoms of sciatica are aggravated by walking or bending at the waist and relieved by lying down. The pain relief by changing positions can be partial or complete.
How dose Acupuncture and Tuina(Massage) do?
Acupuncture can calm the irritate nerves down and combine with Tuina that can relax muscle very well. During the acute period, the irritation nerves would cause huge pain and abnormal sensation, such as burning and numbness. So nerves should be allayed immediately to prevent causing further damage. After treatment most of my patients would feel relaxation. That is why acupuncture can treat sciatica well. Acupuncture is a really good treatment for sciatica.
