The sciatic nerve travels from the lower back to the foot. On it’s way to the foot, the nerve travels through the pelvic bone along with major stabilizing muscles such as the piriformis, psoas, and the gluteus muscle group. When these muscles are tight or inflamed, they can irritate the nerve. Sciatica refers to the painful condition experienced when the nerve is irritated, and will then refer pain along it’s path: through the buttocks, legs, the lower back, and sometimes all three areas.
Most commonly, the cause of Sciatica may be related to one or all of the following:
- Tight or inflamed muscles
- Disc problem such as inflammation, bulging or vertebral misalignment
- Tilted pelvic bone, which may have various causes, but most often from tight muscles pulling the bone out of level
Sciatica is very common, and has made up approximately 50% of the people I have seen in the office and through professional and student clinics in the past 20 years. I have a thorough approach to the treatment of sciatica that involves a few modalities, mainly Shiatsu and acupuncture. Shiatsu (a Japanese style of bodywork) provides a thorough approach that blends both diagnosis and treatment. By manually following the channels associated with acupuncture, the involved muscles are checked and treated when they are tight, knotty or spasmodic. For the treatment of sciatica, I like to use Shiatsu first in order to help identify which of the above mentioned areas are irritating the sciatic nerve.
Shiatsu is very helpful for relaxation and correcting muscle imbalances. Acupuncture is used to further regulate the system, deeply affect the muscles, and reduce inflammation and pain. I can also identify if the condition is more structural, and will then suggest that people combine acupuncture with either the Rolf method of structural integration, diversified chiropractic, or a Doctor of Osteopathy, depending upon the severity.
Download PDF file for Sciatica Courtesy of Daisy Lear