Sciatica and Its Alternative

Sciatica is the type of pain that affects the lower back region and the back of the legs. It occurs in the sciatic nerve that extends from the lower back down to both legs. It takes place because something might be pushing on the sciatic nerve like the spine, the spinal discs or muscle spasm. The pain can either be like pinching in the back or legs or could be constant.

Sciatica can occur in people that either sit or stand for long periods of time or lift very heavy objects; pregnant women are also susceptible to it. Other reasons for sciatica could be lumbar spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis and degenerative disc disease. Some common symptoms of sciatica include:

• Weakness, difficulty moving one or both the legs, numbness in the back or legs

• Pain in one or both the legs that increases when sitting down

• Continuous pain on one side of the body

• Nighttime Back Pain

• Lower back pain and strain

Alternative treatment of Sciatica

The pain of sciatica can be extremely difficult to deal with. People try to find relief in any way possible. In many cases conventional modes of medicine do not work or only give temporary relief. More and more people are turning to alternative methods to get relief from the mind numbing pain. Acupuncture and chiropractic care are two successful ways of treating sciatica pain.

Acupuncturist Care

Research suggests that acupuncture helps in greatly reducing the sciatica pain. When you consult an acupuncturist for your sciatica pain, they will not only give you a thorough examination, they will also ask your overall medical condition and also ask your life style and if you had any accidents that might have led to this problem. They will then devise a program for your treatment that will be based on acupuncture treatments as well as healthy diet and exercise routines. This way they will improve your overall health, both physically and mentally.

The acupuncturist would treat you with a procedure that involves the insertion of needles into various acu-points on different parts of your body. The needles are very thin and will only cause discomfort for a short while. Some patients even manage to fall asleep during the procedure. In some case the needles are either electrically charged or heated to give maximum results. Patients have stated that the pain starts decreasing within two hours of the acupuncture treatment.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is all about correcting the spinal position and improving the health of the whole body. Spinal adjustments are performed on patients which lead to the correction of spinal cord and spinal movement. Chiropractic treatment also involves other treatments like ice therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, ultrasound etc. The number of sessions required and duration of the treatment would depend on severity of the sciatica pain. With time chiropractic care can give much needed relief from the mind numbing pain of sciatica.