Classical acupuncture for sciatica.

When the pain runs down your leg.

It starts in the low back or the buttock and runs down the leg, sometimes electric, sometimes burning, sometimes numb and tingling. You shift in your chair. You stand up to get away from it. Sitting through a meal or a drive turns into something you brace for, and no position holds for long. You have stretched, you have rested, and the line of pain keeps tracing the same path. Classical acupuncture treats sciatica as what it is, a channel problem, and that path down your leg is where the reading begins.

What classical medicine sees in sciatica.

Sciatica maps almost exactly onto the body's channels. The pain traces the pathways down the leg, which tells the practitioner precisely which channel is involved and where the flow is blocked. Underneath, a depleted low back often let it set in.

• Down the back of the leg: the Bladder channel pathway.
• Down the side of the leg: the Gallbladder channel pathway.
• Worse in cold or damp, better with warmth and movement: Cold and Damp obstructing the channel.
• Set in after you were run down: depleted low-back reserves letting the blockage take hold.

How I work with sciatica.

1. Treat along the affected channel. Because the pain follows the channel, the Sinew channel pathway it traces is exactly where the work goes.
2. Clear the blockage. Moving the Cold, Damp, or stagnation that is obstructing flow is what relieves the radiating pain.
3. Rebuild the low back. Restoring the reserves underneath helps keep it from setting back in.
4. One patient at a time. A private room, my undivided attention, the entire session.

Is this right for you?

A good fit if:

• Radiating pain down one or both legs
• You've tried stretching, PT, or rest without lasting relief
• Pain is worse sitting or in the cold
• You're ready to take an active part

Not the right fit if:

• You want a single-visit fix
• Progressive leg weakness, foot drop, or changes in bladder or bowel control (these need urgent medical evaluation first)

You do not need a diagnosis in hand to begin. Start with a consultation, tell me where the pain runs and what you have already tried, and we will find out together whether this is the right medicine for your leg. If it points somewhere else, I will tell you that plainly and help you find it.

If the pain stays in your back, see acupuncture for back pain. For numbness or neuropathy, see neurological conditions. For the broader picture, see chronic pain and injuries.