Sciatica

"Sciatica" Issue / Symptom Connections

Below you will find various relationships to, and potential clinical treatment approaches for sciatica.

Content Related to Sciatica

It is critical to appreciate that in Chinese Medicine, treatment for "sciatica" is rarely focused on the symptoms exclusively. Alternatively, a practitioner is looking at the factors that led to the development of "sciatica" - i.e. the "cause(s)".

For non-practitioners, we recommend reading treating the "cause" and not the "symptoms" for more on the overall approach and the importance of the TCM diagnostic system in formulating treatment approaches.

Within TCM, "sciatica" is potentially related to one or more of the following diagnostic patterns: kidney qi deficiency, kidney yang deficiency, liver and gallbladder damp heat, liver blood deficiency, and/or liver wind.

The above patterns are common examples. In clinical situations, however, there are any number of other possibilities. Many times there will be a layered combination of patterns in an interwoven blend with their symptoms - some being the cause of an issue and the result of another issue. While initially complex, this is illustrative of the the web of relationships that Chinese Medicine is designed to approach.

Related Acupuncture Protocols

When developing an acupuncture protocol a practitioner is very often focusing on the causal diagnoses in Chinese Medicine terms, not on the condition itself. To illustrate and guide developing an acupuncture treatment for someone experiencing sciatica, this issue is referenced in the following acupuncture protocol section:

• View EX Huatuojiaji at L4 (Sides of Spine at L4)
  
      .5 cun lateral to the lower border of the spinous processes of L4
  
      L4 innervates the large intestine and is used for a range of colon issues, distention, diarrrhea, constipation, crohn's, IBS and more.  Also useful for low back and/or sciatic pain, weakness in the lower extremities, etc.  Collections of d…
• View EX Huatuojiaji at L5 (Sides of Spine at L5)
  
      .5 cun lateral to the lower border of the spinous processes of L5
  
      L5 innervates the descending colon and is used for the entire range of bowel issues, hemorrhoids, constipation, IBS, diarrhea, etc.  The huatuo at L1 or L2, however, is often the area that is blocked with this range of issues.  This area m…
• View UB 32 (Second Bone Hole)
  
      On the sacrum medial and inferior to the PSIS, level with the 2nd PSF.
  
      UB 31, UB 32, UB 33 & UB 34 together form the "Eight Liao" points and are all useful for local low back a/or sacrum problems and most genital and urinary related disorders. Of these this point, UB 32, is most often used clinically.  Sc…
• View UB 36 (Support)
  
      On posterior side of the thigh at the midpoint of the inferior gluteal crease (locate in prone position).
  
      Low back pain/sciatica where pain runs down the posterior aspect of the leg. Weakness of the lower limb. Similar functions to UB 35 in clearing damp heat and swellings from the lower warmer - genital pain and swelling, hemorrhoids, semin…
• View UB 37 (Gate of Abundance)
  
      6 cun below UB 36 on a line joining UB 36 and UB 40.
  
      Strenghtens the spine and alleviates pain - low back pain, sciatic pain, local hamstring, thigh, leg pain. Also used for watery diarrhea.
• View UB 38 (Superficial Cleft)
  
      1 cun above UB 39 on the medial side of the tendon of biceps femoris (found with knee slightly bent).
  
      Similar functions to the bladder points on the sacrum and leg in that it relieves pain and moves the triple warmer.  Pain related issues such as pain and/or numbness in the buttocks, pain along the meridian in the thigh or outer thigh. Dr…