acupuncture and sciatica 

  Sciatica is often misused and its definition often misunderstood.
Sciatica is a set of symptoms rather than a diagnosis in itself. Sciatica is a general term that refers to pain caused by compression or irritation
of one or more nerves exiting the lower spine that make up the sciatic
nerve. The medical term for sciatica is a radiculopathy, which means
that a spinal disc has extended beyond its normal position and is
irritating the radicular nerve (nerve root), which connects with the
sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve branches off as it travels down the
lower extremity through the back of the leg, and thus pain can be
experienced along this route.

Sciatica is generally sensed as nerve pain running down the back or side of the leg. It may also be located or fixed in one spot or several spots in the buttocks, thigh or calf.

Acupuncture has received a great deal of attention from western scientists in the past decade, and studies of this complex medical system are ongoing. In 1998, the National Institutes of Health acknowledged that acupuncture appears to be effective at relieving a number of kinds of pain, including low back pain from sciatica.

Acupuncture works to relieve muscle spasm, increasing the circulation and microcirculation in the area of injury and reducing inflammation.  Please refer to other pages about back pain and disc problems.