Sciatica is devastating, inutilizing, and so painful it shuts down your body; making the only way to solve the crisis is to take a load of painkillers and lay in bed until the pain fades away.
Is it the only way to deal with it? Do you have to fill up on Tylenol every time you have an episode? Knowing the potential side effects of taking too many NSAIDs.
Can’t there be something natural or alternative you can try at home?
Glad you asked. Turns out there are acupuncture points for sciatica relief.
Would you believe me if I told you that you can get rid of your sciatic pain with just your hands and a few points? Yes, you can and I’m going to tell you how.
What’s more, I’m giving you a step-by-step guide as well as a case study where having this knowledge saved the day (actually the night), more on that later.
Want to know more? Stay tuned.
Table of Contents
Chinese Medicine’s View of Sciatica
Sciatica refers to the sharp, intense pain caused by the irritation/inflammation of the Sciatic nerve (also known as the ischiatic nerve) that runs from your lower back to your glute, leg, all the way down towards your heel and foot.
The pain can be located anywhere along the nerve pathway: lower back, glute, rear thigh, and so on.
What does Chinese Medicine say about sciatica?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, sciatica is caused by Wind/Heat, Wind/Cold, or Blood stagnation, affecting the flow of Qi and Blood, especially through the gallbladder and Bladder meridians.
This is why the majority of the points used for sciatica belong to these channels.
Don’t know what Wind or Heat means in Traditional Chinese Medicine? Check out this article: Causes of Disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Why try Acupuncture for Sciatica
Low back pain accounts for 3% of all ER visits in the United States, around 2.06 million episodes per year. Many of which are caused by sciatica.
It can happen at any age but it’s more common between those in their 40s and 50s. Mainly due to the decrease in muscle size and loss of bone density linked to aging.
Most cases of sciatica will recover fully after some weeks, there are some that don’t heal and develop a chronic disease.
Western Medicine heavily relies on the use of painkillers. NSAIDs are the most used ones but there.
It is a known fact that the abuse of drugs like NSAIDs can provoke adverse effects like ulcers, gastritis, and even kidney damage.
Some cases even need to go to surgery.
So why not try something with fewer adverse effects and risks?
Enter Acupuncture…
Upcoming research and scientific investigations show acupuncture is not only superior to placebo and sham (fake) acupuncture, but it can also outperform the Conventional Western approach to sciatica.
Acupuncture can work for both the acute crisis and chronic disease. Sticking a well-placed needle can relieve your pain almost instantly without the need to take any pills.
It can even prevent you from having to go to surgery.
Knowing this, isn’t it a safe bet to try some acupuncture for your sciatica?
Being able to treat your sciatica with acupuncture points can make a difference, even more, if you happen to be by yourself.
Now let’s see how you can do it from the comfort of your home:
How to use the Acupuncture Points for Sciatica
The goal of stimulating the acupuncture points for sciatica is to relieve the pain by tonifying the Gallbladder and Bladder meridians as well as the Kidneys and Liver to support muscle and nerve health.
If you are interested in knowing what the Kidneys and Liver have to do with muscles and nerves, read this article: The Organs of Traditional Chinese Medicine Explained
I’ve had the best results combining Gallbladder 31 with Bladder 60 and Stomach 36.
Using three points per session is enough to get great results.
Just make sure you are pressing them well.
You can tell if you are doing it right when you or your ‘patient’ feels some pressure/discomfort on the points. Be mindful not to cause pain or bruising, the pressure must be firm but gentle.
Since you are using your hands, you will need up to three sessions per day for better results.
Here are the points:
GB 30: This point is located in your leg, on the external side of your buttock. Draw an imaginary line between your tailbone and the tip of your hip bone (greater trochanter of the femur), and divide that line into three parts. The point is located in the intersection between the outer and middle thirds of that line.
GB 31: Located 7 cun above the knee crease, in the middle of the outer side of the thigh between the muscles. Stand up straight with your hands on the side of your body. The point is located at the tip of your middle finger. This is a powerful acupuncture point for Sciatica.
BL 60: This point is located behind your outer ankle, 1 cun behind the tip of the ankle. This is a main painkiller point, especially for joint pain.
Stomach 36: Located in your leg, 3 cun below your kneecap, 1 cun lateral to your shin bone, in the depth of your tibialis anterior muscle.
Spleen 6: Located 3 cun above your inner ankle, behind the edge of the tibia. This is a point where the Three Yin channels of the foot converge. Very powerful point.
Bladder 23: Located on your back, this is the Kidney Shu Point. Look for your floating ribs, on the inferior edge, and draw a line connecting them and your spine. This point is 1.5 cun lateral to the center of your spine.
Liver 3: Located on the dorsum of your foot, look at the depression between your first and second toe and go towards your ankle, when the bones of the toes join, there is the spot.
Hot to Stimulate the Points
You can use your hands, knuckles, the elbow if you are doing it to someone else, or you can get yourself a tool designed for stimulating acupoints.
- Select the point combination for the session.
- Find the points.
- Press them firmly for one minute and rest 30s to one minute.
- Do this three times.
- Go to the next point.
Go from the uppermost points downwards.
How the Points Work
- Gallbladder 30, 31, and Bladder 60 specifically target sciatic pain by regulating the flow of Qi along the meridians.
- Spleen 6 Helps ease the pain as well as strengthening Kidneys and Liver.
- Bladder 23, and Liver 3 fortify the Kidneys and Liver.
- Use Acupuncture/Acupressure in GB 30, 31, St 36, Sp 6, Li 3, and Bl 60.
- Use Moxibustion in Bl 23.
You can also massage Gallbladder 30 with the tip of your elbow. Press firmly or in circles and the muscle tension will fade relieving the pain.
Now you know which points to use and how to use them, but you may be wondering if this works.
I get it, that’s why I’m going to share with you a personal story where knowing how to use those acupuncture points made me able to treat a sciatica crisis in the middle of the night.
A Personal Case Study
One night I was in my room studying when all of a sudden my sister knocked on the door. She was distressed because my brother-in-law was having one of the worst crises of sciatica he has ever had. She didn’t know what else to do.
She had given him almost every painkiller pill she had available, she put an ice pack on his back, but nothing was working, nada. This was by far the worst crisis he’d ever had.
Painkillers-don’t-work-at-all kind of sciatica.
Mind you, it was almost past 1 am and the ambulance wouldn’t come. So we were all by ourselves.
She asked me if there was something I could do to help. Being a doctor and seeing that pills don’t work is both terrifying and eye-opening.
Thankfully, I knew how to use acupuncture for that.
Usually, my brother-in-law never accepts acupuncture. But this time he was open to anything, you can now imagine how bad was the pain.
So I got my needles and placed them in GB 31, St 36, and Bl 60.
And after 15 minutes, the pain was all gone. My brother-in-law told me he could feel the pain fading and a nice, warm feeling was surging from the needles, especially from the one on the thigh (GB 31).
He suffered a couple more episodes a few days later but Acupuncture solved them all.
Curiously enough, he now says he won’t get acupuncture treatment for his chronic sciatica. Talking about irony.
Well, I hope this story reassured you of the effectiveness of acupuncture for sciatica.
Don’t forget to bookmark this post, and share it with everyone you know so they can also get this knowledge.
Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts!
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