Blog Entry Jan 14th 2023 • Acupuncture is an ancient and rich medicine!
Acupuncture is an ancient and rich medicine, which can treat just about anything under the sun. At Santa Cruz Family Acupuncture, I provide Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat a wide range of health concerns for women, men and children. As a dual acupuncturist and herbalist I have extensive training in the world’s most sophisticated medical herbal system. I bring this knowledge to my treatments, offering herbal consultations and nutritional guidance to increase the efficacy and positive outcome for my patients. At Santa Cruz Family Acupuncture patients range from babies and children to professional athletes and great-grandparents. As an award winning acupuncturist and primary care provider, I utilize the exceptional tools of Chinese medicine to provide effective and life changing treatments to my patients.
One of the conditions that I commonly see in the clinic is Sciatica. Sciatica, and Piriformis Syndrome (another condition often confused with sciatica) are among my favorite conditions to treat! This is due to how effective acupuncture is in relieving the pain caused by these conditions. Anyone who has experienced sciatica, knows how painful and debilitating it can be. Sciatica is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve, which then causes radiating pain in the lumbar-sacral area, the gluts, or pain that runs down the leg. In short, Sciatica is truly a pain in the butt!
Common causes of sciatica include a herniated disc in the lumbar region. Up to 90% of sciatica may involve a disc herniation. The herniated (bulging disc) then directly compresses the sciatic nerve, or, an acidic chemical irritant leaking from the disc may cause inflammation and irritation to the nerve. Sciatica may also be caused by a bone spur in the lumbar region. Rarely, sciatica may be caused by a tumor pressing on the sciatic nerve.
Another condition which presents similarly to sciatica, is Piriformis Syndrome. In piriformis syndrome, rather than compression to the sciatic nerve at the spine (radiculopathy), with Piriformis Syndrome, the compression to the sciatic nerve occurs lower along the nerve pathway, as the nerve runs deeply beneath the hip flexors and the piriformis muscle. Piriformis syndrome may be aggravated by sitting, driving, cycling or climbing stairs, as each of these activities will engage and potentially aggravate the piriformis muscle. The symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome present very similarly to sciatica and may be misdiagnosed as sciatica.
Fortunately, acupuncture is an effective treatment for sciatica. A Meta-Analysis published in 2015 titled, The Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Mei Ji, Xiaoxia Wang, Meijuan Chen, Yan Shen, Xu Zhang, and Jin Yang assessed the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the clinical treatment of sciatica. This comprehensive and quantitative Meta-Analysis found that acupuncture was more effective than conventional Western medicine in outcomes and effectiveness, pain intensity, and pain threshold.
Acupuncture is so effective at treating sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome, that these have become two of my favorite conditions to treat! To be able to help a person out of debilitating pain, and see them return to a joyful and active life is deeply rewarding.