If you want a non-pharmaceutical method of managing your sciatic pain, then go for acupuncture sciatica treatment. Many patients swear that is works.

Acupuncture may be an ideal symptomatic treatment, but still, is a viable option for those who are seeking a safe way to relieve their pain while they work towards a complete cure. This article will explore the ways acupuncture treatment can be used to treat sciatica symptoms. It will talk about its limitations as well as its many benefits in treating sciatica.

How Does Acupuncture for Sciatic Nerve Pain Treatment Work?

An ancient form of healthcare derived from TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture is a treatment designed to balance the flow of chi/qi through anatomical vessels known as meridians.

Chi/Qi is the name for the vital energy that’s circulating throughout our bodies. This flow is responsible for producing all the anatomical processes we know from human anatomy. With the use of fine needles and sometimes mild electrical currents, acupuncturists stimulate selected points on the body which can either drain or add to the chi. Acupuncture treatment is virtually a pain-free procedure especially when undertaken by a qualified and skilled practitioner.

So long as proper hygiene practices are adhered to, no significant risks are going to occur during and after the treatment.

Drawbacks for Acupuncture for Sciatica Treatment

Acupuncture per se does not really cure sciatica. The treatment is not able to resolve any health issues that originate from structural issues and since sciatica is oftentimes a problem caused by a part of the body that impinges, inflames and irritates the sciatic nerve, acupuncture is not able to restore the displaced or protruding part of the body that affects the sciatic nerve and thus cannot cure this problem. However, It can help make the pain and discomfort more livable. There is nothing wrong with the patient pursuing acupuncture for better management of chronic pain as long as he/she is aware of this fact.

However, there might be ethical problems if the practitioner leads the patient into believing that his/her practice will give the patient some hope of cure. Acupuncture can be expensive and is sometimes not covered by health insurance. For a lot of patients seeking a natural way to relieve pain, this can be a problem. They often just resort to painkilling medication, since they are always available and always covered by insurance plans, regardless of their poisonous nature and risks.

Considerations

As a system of holistic pain management and for certain health conditions, I am a huge follower of acupuncture. That being said, I am not keen about certain acupuncturists who falsely claim their therapies can cure almost any health conditions within a certain amount of treatments.
Sadly, I had an experience with one of these practitioners who kept on telling me that more treatments are required to treat my sciatica. It seems that no amount of treatments was enough to help me. Eventually I began to be aware that this person was a liar and a thief and certainly was a very poor example of the caring and ethical practitioners that I have known.

As a method to naturally alleviate pain, I highly recommend acupuncture. However, you need to remember that this treatment is only meant to be a temporary solution and you need to find a real cure for your condition.

We can start to appreciate the effects of acupuncture on sciatica symptoms once we understand how it works and how sciatica occurs. Sciatica is a form of back pain that is due to abnormal pressure bearing on the sciatic nerve. This causes pain down the back or side of the body that usually radiates all the way down the calf or even the ankle. Sciatica can be the result of one or a combination of factors:

Vertebral diseases such as degenerative joint disease and a herniated disc – these conditions affect the structure of the spine resulting in pressure in one of the nerves that bundle together to form the sciative nerve.

Inflammation – This results in irritation and pressure on the sciatic nerve

Spasms of muscles located in the direction where the sciatic nerve runs – Occasionally, some of these muscles, particularly the piriformis muscle, can manage to squeeze the nerve. Other muscles in the proximity of the spine that are affected by a bulging disc can also put pressure on the nerves.

With regards to the third and second causes of sciatica, one can avail of acupuncture to help treat the pain and inflammation. Acupuncture can work to a certain degree when it comes to sciatica resulting from a herniated disk. It can relieve the secondary muscle spasm and inflammation and muscle spasm; acupuncture can also help lessen the pressure which can help relieve the pain.

Pain may still not be generated when a bulging disc impinges on the nerve. But if the already affected nerve receives more pressure from a tensed muscle, sciatica then can occur. So, while it may not be able to resolve a bulging or herniated disc, acupuncture can treat the pain and the spasmed muscles, which is more important as it aggravated the pressure on the nerves which then generates the sciatic pain.