Does acupuncture help sciatica?

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, sciatica is caused by the incomprehension of the spleen, the pathogenic qi of wind, cold, dampness, and heat exploiting the deficiency, causing the pathogen to stay in the meridians, obstructing the healthy qi, stagnant qi, and blood flow, blocking the meridians, and causing pain. 

How does TCM treat sciatica with acupuncture?

Studies have shown that acupuncture is effective in treating sciatica. The principle is that acupuncture can stimulate the nerve roots affected by back problems, improve body stiffness and pain, and reduce inflammation in the affected area.

How long will the treatment take? Acupuncture treatment for sciatica patients As long as the acupuncture treatment is performed 1 to 2 times a week, the patient’s pain will improve after about 1 to 2 months. 

Are there any exercise contraindications for sciatica?

 Patients with sciatica in the acute phase should avoid strenuous exercise and rest in bed more. Patients with sciatica can only start exercising when they enter the recovery period. Physical activity, such as slow walking and jogging, should be performed appropriately.

Things to watch out for to avoid exacerbations of sciatica

In addition to sciatica treatment methods, exercise contraindications, and simple soothing exercises, sciatica patients should pay attention to the following four life issues.

1. Do not sleep on a soft bed in the acute phase. Otherwise, the condition will be aggravated.

2. In addition, in the acute phase, it needs more rest. Appropriate physical exercise should be carried out in the recovery phase to help resolve movement disorders, increase the range of motion, enhance muscle strength, prevent muscle atrophy, correct bad posture, enhance physical fitness, and improve general health. Encourage patients to resume normal activities as soon as possible.

3. Avoid heavy physical labor, especially lifting heavy objects or bending over to inspect things.

4. To prevent cold and dampness, wipe dry immediately after exercising and sweating, keep the skin dry, and do not sit or lie on cool and wet ground for a long time.

• Elite hospitals like the Mayo Clinic, University of California San Francisco, Duke University Medical Center are now offering acupuncture.
• The World Health Organization recommends medical acupuncture as part of a treatment plan for dozens of conditions and diseases. 

• The US Government’s National Institute of Health (NIH) concluded that acupuncture is emerging as an effective treatment for a broad range of conditions. 
• Based on a systematic review, the American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical Practice Guideline recommends acupuncture for acute, subacute and chronic low back pain (cLBP).
• The longevity of benefit for acupuncture in chronic pain was evaluated in a meta-analysis of 20 trials and over 6,000 patients and showed that clinical benefits of 

References:

1. Qin, Zongshi et al. “Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Treating Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM vol. 2015 (2015): 425108. doi:10.1155/2015/425108
2. Huang, Ziling et al. “Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Chronic Discogenic Sciatica, a Randomized Controlled Sham Acupuncture Trial.” Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) vol. 20,11 (2019): 2303-2310. doi:10.1093/pm/pnz167
3. Zhang, Jing et al. “Effectiveness and safety of warm needle acupuncture for sciatica: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.” Medicine vol. 100,2 (2021): e24126. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000024126
4. Kim, Koh-Woon et al. “Effect and neurophysiological mechanism of acupuncture in patients with chronic sciatica: protocol for a randomized, patient-assessor blind, sham-controlled clinical trial.” Trials vol. 20,1 56. 16 Jan. 2019, doi:10.1186/s13063-018-3164-8