Throughout the three years that I have been observing and treating in our student clinic at Southwest Acupuncture College in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sciatic pain has become a recurring theme that I and my fellow classmates have had the chance to understand and treat.
Sciatica is the impingement of the sciatic nerve which is a large nerve that originates in the lower back and runs down the lower limbs. The impingement commonly occurs when a herniated disc or bone spur compresses part of the nerve. The pain can be a shooting pain or dull ache that runs down the back of the leg (posteriorly), the side of the leg (laterally) or both. The pain can be constant or improve with/without movement.
In China, 4,000 years ago, they did not have a term for 'sciatica', just like there is no 'common cold'- everything is differentiated. This is what separates Chinese medicine from Western. In Chinese medicine, the body is looked at as an entire ecosystem, not broken into its individual pieces. When a patient comes into our clinic complaining of sciatic pain, questions regarding the acuteness and severity, pathway and sensation of the pain, and even whether they run hot or cold illustrate a picture for us from which we draw a treatment plan.
Case Study
A 50-year-old female present with left leg sciatic pain for over 2 years. The pain was sharp, shooting down both posteriorly and laterally to the pinky toe and worse after exercise. The patient had a fidgety demeanor had a difficult time making eye contact when discussing her main complaint. History of the pain revealed that when she was a teenager, she was an ice skater and would often land on the left buttock. Her pulse was wiry, especially in the Guan position on the left hand, but empty on the deeper level. Emotionally, the patient stated they become angry, anxious and sometimes depressed. Her tongue was pale red, slight scallops on the side with peeling and some quivering.
Diagnosis & Explanation of Symptoms
Stagnation of qi and blood in the GB/BL channel with Liver deficiency
Posterior and lateral sciatic pain are the Bladder and Gallbladder channels, both Yang.
Wiry superficial, soft deep pulse in guan position on left hand- GB excess, LV deficiency
Anxiety/depression- LV qi stagnation due to Liver deficiency
Sharp, shooting pain is excessive, rather than a deficient dull ache.
Treatment
If you imagine the body as a system of beautiful rivers, streams and marshes, you can imagine that her sciatic pain was an excess of water that was being built up by rocks (trauma from young adulthood) that had come down and blocked the passage of the water (Qi).
In Chinese medicine, there is a saying: When Qi flows freely along the meridians, people are free from illness; if the Qi is blocked, then pain follows. Keeping with our metaphor of a river, I "opened" the Shu-stream points of the affected channels on the left leg (GB-41, BL-65) so as to move this excessive energy to the right leg and pouring that excess into the yin paired Luo-connecting points of these Yang channels (LV-5, KD-4).
After treatment, the patient complained of no sciatic pain. This treatment lasted four days. Over the next six weekly treatments, the pain relief lasted longer and the intensity of the pain lessened. The patient also mentioned being less angry and were more aware of their emotions. Were she a patient in my clinic, the treatments would be bi-weekly for a couple of months, finishing with the occasional tune up.
Conclusion
Not all sciatic pain is the same. There is no magic sciatica point. We look to see what the body is trying to communicate, where the imbalance lies and seek to rectify that imbalance. As a student of Chinese medicine, I welcome any and all questions. Thank you - Collin
Sciatica is the impingement of the sciatic nerve which is a large nerve that originates in the lower back and runs down the lower limbs. The impingement commonly occurs when a herniated disc or bone spur compresses part of the nerve. The pain can be a shooting pain or dull ache that runs down the back of the leg (posteriorly), the side of the leg (laterally) or both. The pain can be constant or improve with/without movement.
In China, 4,000 years ago, they did not have a term for 'sciatica', just like there is no 'common cold'- everything is differentiated. This is what separates Chinese medicine from Western. In Chinese medicine, the body is looked at as an entire ecosystem, not broken into its individual pieces. When a patient comes into our clinic complaining of sciatic pain, questions regarding the acuteness and severity, pathway and sensation of the pain, and even whether they run hot or cold illustrate a picture for us from which we draw a treatment plan.
Case Study
A 50-year-old female present with left leg sciatic pain for over 2 years. The pain was sharp, shooting down both posteriorly and laterally to the pinky toe and worse after exercise. The patient had a fidgety demeanor had a difficult time making eye contact when discussing her main complaint. History of the pain revealed that when she was a teenager, she was an ice skater and would often land on the left buttock. Her pulse was wiry, especially in the Guan position on the left hand, but empty on the deeper level. Emotionally, the patient stated they become angry, anxious and sometimes depressed. Her tongue was pale red, slight scallops on the side with peeling and some quivering.
Diagnosis & Explanation of Symptoms
Stagnation of qi and blood in the GB/BL channel with Liver deficiency
Posterior and lateral sciatic pain are the Bladder and Gallbladder channels, both Yang.
Wiry superficial, soft deep pulse in guan position on left hand- GB excess, LV deficiency
Anxiety/depression- LV qi stagnation due to Liver deficiency
Sharp, shooting pain is excessive, rather than a deficient dull ache.
Treatment
If you imagine the body as a system of beautiful rivers, streams and marshes, you can imagine that her sciatic pain was an excess of water that was being built up by rocks (trauma from young adulthood) that had come down and blocked the passage of the water (Qi).
In Chinese medicine, there is a saying: When Qi flows freely along the meridians, people are free from illness; if the Qi is blocked, then pain follows. Keeping with our metaphor of a river, I "opened" the Shu-stream points of the affected channels on the left leg (GB-41, BL-65) so as to move this excessive energy to the right leg and pouring that excess into the yin paired Luo-connecting points of these Yang channels (LV-5, KD-4).
After treatment, the patient complained of no sciatic pain. This treatment lasted four days. Over the next six weekly treatments, the pain relief lasted longer and the intensity of the pain lessened. The patient also mentioned being less angry and were more aware of their emotions. Were she a patient in my clinic, the treatments would be bi-weekly for a couple of months, finishing with the occasional tune up.
Conclusion
Not all sciatic pain is the same. There is no magic sciatica point. We look to see what the body is trying to communicate, where the imbalance lies and seek to rectify that imbalance. As a student of Chinese medicine, I welcome any and all questions. Thank you - Collin
That is really interesting, especially the part about the anger.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Victoria. In Chinese medicine, they believe that emotions run two ways: an excess of an emotion can cause a disease and that a disease can cause an excess of an emotion. An example that illustrates how the Lung relates to the emotion of grief or sorrow would be seen in a person who has grieved over a loss for a very long time but has not been able to process and work through their grief. This person might eventually develop an issue with their Lung such as asthma or even more serious complications.
ReplyDeleteThe other side is that an internal pathology can be reflected through the emotions. A person who ruminates and overthinks may eventually develop issues with their appetite and digestion, because the qi of the Spleen is being depleted with overthinking. So we say that EXCESSIVE emotion disrupts the free flow of the organ it's related to.
Anger is related to Liver
Joy is related to Heart
Obsession is related to Spleen
Grief is related to Lung
Fear is related to Kidney
These are the five Yin organs and it's important to remember that it's when these emotions are EXCESSIVE. Healthy anger can be good, if you don't have anger and you're not a monk, you might have weak Liver functions and allow people to walk all over you. Balance is always sought.