Acupuncture for Sciatica

Patients often ask . . . What is sciatica?

Sciatica is a group of symptoms caused by the compression and/or irritation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve, itself, is a large nerve that exits from the lumbar vertebrae and travels to the foot. The sciatic nerve is responsible for movement and sensation of the pelvis, buttock, leg, knee, and foot.

Sciatica can occur when a bulging disc compresses on the sciatic nerve and causes shock-like, burning, numbness, and/or loss of motor control in the areas that the sciatic nerve runs. Sciatica can also be caused by a tumor. Sciatica is often accompanied with back pain.

When you come to our clinics, we will take a health history and ask you key questions relating to your sciatica and back pain. Two important questions we will ask you are . . . 1) what types of symptoms are you experiencing and 2) where are you experiencing these symptoms. Patients often report that their sciatica either runs thru the back of their leg(s), side of the leg(s), and/or down the front of their leg(s).

In addition, patients often show us where their accompanying back pain is.

All of the information you tell us is very important to us. It tells us which muscle groups, joints, ligaments, and/or tendons are involved. It enables us to customize an acupuncture treatment specific to your sciatica and back pain.

We are able to determine if the acupuncture treatments are working for you, based on your response.

Patients usually report that just after a few treatments they are experiencing much less pain, burning, numbness, etc.

In my clinical experience, I have discovered that eight/nine out of ten sciatica patients are responsive to acupuncture. Thus, the majority of patients are responsive to acupuncture. If, however, we find that you are not responsive, we can discuss your options . . . we can discuss diet therapy, herbal therapy, and if needed, we can refer a primary care physician and/or chiropractor to you.

Acupuncture is a therapy. At Metis Clinics, we use acupuncture as a therapy to find a long-term solution for your sciatica and back pain.

Are You Constipated?

In the US, I have found that most people are either constipated or have diarrhea or alternate between the two. As you can image, this is a topic of concern that most people avoid like the plague. Having said this though, people do take joy in having a proper valve movement daily. Undoubtedly, it is one of the simple pleasures in life.

At Metis Clinics, we can help you with your constipation. We can help you avoid that awkward feeling in the morning. In fact, some patients report that they run to the bathroom and have a valve movement right after an acupuncture treatment.

Clinically, I got trained in treating constipation in India. A lot of the Indian farmers, for one reason or another, whether it is that they did not drink enough water or they did not have enough fiber in their diets, were constipated. Mainly though, I believe their constipation was due to heat in their constitution. Indian farmers, in the south, live in hot climates and ate hot, spicy food, causing them to be constipation.

Generally, there are five reasons why people feel constipated. By asking you a series of questions, we can determine which reasons are causing your constipation. The more truthful answers you provide, the better equip we are to help you. So, please don’t be shy!

We will ask you such questions as . . . Is elimination difficult? Do you try to eliminate several times a day and cannot? Do you have abdominal distension and pain? Are the stools hard and dry?

By asking these questions and more, we can determine how your body composition is creating your constipation. Once we determine your body type, we can advise you of the therapy/therapies, whether it is acupuncture, herbs, or nutrition that will work best for you.

We can choose from a multitude of acupuncture points, herbal prescriptions, and foods to help you with your constipation. Among these, we can choose from the herbal formulas, Ma Zi Ren Wan, Liu Mo Yin, Huang-Qi Tang, Run Chang Wan, and/or Ji Chuan Jian. Also, we can discuss which foods you should eat. Depending on your constitution, I may advise you of apples, figs, yogurt, bananas, mulberries, pears, pine nuts, sesame seeds, grapefruit, yams, honey, red beans, walnuts, apricot kernel, peaches, milk, spinach, etc.

So, please avoid the awkward feeling in the morning and come see us at Metis Clinics!

Acupuncture for Back Pain

Have you battled back pain for years? Does your low back ache? Do your upper shoulders feel like rocks? Do you carry your tension in your back? Have you considered acupuncture for your back pain?

My name is Anita Tadavarthy and I believe I can help you. I am a licensed acupuncturist. I became proficient in treating back pain after treating thousands of rice farmers in India with prolonged back pain.

It is important to note that your back pain exists due to many, many different factors. Your back pain may be due to joint disorders, muscle injury, abnormal changes in the body tissue, and/or complications with intervertebral discs. Upon your first visit with me, I will ask you where your back pain is and what it feels like. Based on your answers, I will provide you with a customized acupuncture treatment for your back pain.

At our clinics, we will work with you to provide you with a long-term solution for your back pain. We are able to do this because patients often report that their back pain decreases in intensity once the acupuncture needles are placed in their body. As this happens, it just means that you are responding well to the acupuncture treatment that we have designed for you. If you do not feel the back pain decrease right away, do not feel alarmed. Some patients report that it takes a few days or a few different acupuncture treatments for it to kick in. Regardless, once we determine your rate of response, we can custom design a acupuncture treatment program for you to get rid of your back pain. Please note that if you do not respond within 6-7 treatments, then we will advise you to seek the care of your MD. If you do not have a MD that you are comfortable with, we can refer one to you.

At our clinics, we will also teach you self-care techniques for your back pain. We will teach you breathing exercises. In addition, we will offer you dietary and herbal advice as well as show you when and how to use cold/hot compresses.

Acupuncture is a therapy and we must use it as a therapy to gradually decrease your low back pain. We want to work with you to find a long-term solution for your back pain.