Sciatica

The sciatic nerve is the largest and widest nerve in your body.

It is formed by the combination of other nerves. The sciatic nerve connects smaller branches of nerves that run through the spinal canal, from pelvis down the legs and into feet. It is a channel of communication between your spine and legs.

It runs from the lower back, through the buttocks, and down the legs, it ends in the foot.

The sciatic nerve supplies sensation to the muscles and skin of the lower leg, including the calf, the back of the thigh, ankle, back portion of the knee and to the sole of the foot.

Sciatica occurs when a herniated or slipped disk, bone spur on the spine or narrowing of the spine compresses part of the nerve. Sciatica can be also caused by irritation of the root of the lower lumbar and lumbosacral spine. The nerve fibers become inflamed, pinched or irritated. Inflammation, pain or numbness can occur in the affected area.

People may experience pain all the way from their upper thighs to their feet. Or lower back pain that spreads downward through the buttocks. We recognise short-term sciatica and long-term sciatica.

The pain caused by a pinched nerve or a disc in the spine that has developed a crack or tear can be very unpleasant.

Other meaning of sciatica

If you have any questions about your health, experience pain or feel discomfort in your body I strongly recommend to talk to your doctor. If you think you suffer from sciatica, visit your doctor who can recommend a chiropractor for you. Chiropractor spinal adjustments and physical therapy is what you may need.

I know several people who suffer from sciatica. Sometimes the sciatica hurts so much and sometimes it gets better. After a few visits at the chiropractor's it feels great but sometimes in a few weeks it comes back. Why?

This was a case of my friend - a busy mom who had always lot of work to do, came to me wanting a gentle whole body massage to get rid of the sciatica pain. She already spent so much money for her chiropractor treatments, she was desperate. Her sciatica was on and off for several years and she was tired of it. I explained to her that she must communicate with her body differently.

Let's pay closer attention about what's going on inside of us. We have to learn and practise inward awareness to develop more sensitivity, love and better communication with ourselves. Our nerves are the communicators inside of our body, they have to do with communication and sensitivity. What is your sciatic nerve trying to tell you?

Sciatica means that there are deep inner emotional issues affecting the back, hips and legs. Issues to do with being able to stand up for yourself. What inner emotional pain are you holding back? Pain represents guilt - What are you punishing yourself for?

People with sciatica are often full of fear. Fear of money, time, life itself. They carry the weight of life on their back and never ask for help but often criticize others for not helping or support them. They are sitting on their emotional pain without having any freedom to move forward. People who grew up in the emotionally tense environment can later develop back pain, hips problems and sciatica. During their childhood they might experienced lot of anger, fear and other emotional garbage that kept piling inside of their bodies. The problem is that they are not aware of it and the fear and other emotions can be locked inside for a really long time, buried deeply in their unconscious mind. You can have layers and layers of unsolved negative emotions that you have forgotten or you don't know they are stored inside of you even for decades.

Being judged critically, abused, emotionally hurt by your parents, teachers, friends from early childhood contributes to your pain and dis-eases later in your life. They get back to the body for example in a form of sciatica. Old childhood negative emotions create toxicity, your fascia tightens from all the stress and become brittle and the sciatica pain starts.

During your life you are surrounded by other people's thoughts, moods and energy (have you heard of "energy vampires" for instance?) - it all affects your energy field and contributes to your self-esteem, pain, low energy, emotions such anger or fear. We disconnect from the truth of ourselves, cutting ourselves from our life force. Our body speaks to us, let's listen to it and try to dissolve the stored garbage of the past.

How? Loving ourselves no matter what!

Things you can do:

Try to learn how to express your true feelings, how to be honest with yourself

Say these affirmations: "I love and support my spine and my spine supports and loves me back"

"I love myself, I feel safe and secure all the time"

"I'm free to move forward because I love myself"

" I let go of my past and I forgive everyone who hurt me, I let go and I move forward "

" I let go of my fear"

" I'm ready to make some changes"

" I communicate with my body easily and lovingly"

Sciatica natural treatments

To help people with their sciatica I think it is important to know little bit about their childhoods (relationships with their parents), emotions and how they live their lives. To explore their emotional and spiritual state. On my massage table I also "explore" the area of their pain - lower back, hips, buttock, legs and so on. Is the pain on the left side or on the right side of the body? Is the pain in the area of Root chakra or Sacral chakra? Which meridian can be affected in that area of the discomfort - Gallbladder meridian, Liver meridian, Bladder or Kidney meridian? I listen to what their body is telling me. Where is the pain sharpest? I work with Yin and Yang energies, trying to unblock the stuck energy in the body. I pay a special attention to Kidneys and their meridian because Kidneys (on the lower back) control the bones and sciatica can be easily linked to weak Kidney function and low energy. Strengthening the Kidneys and boosting their energy can help. The sciatic nerve runs through Root chakra, it connects our nervous system with the earth energy through our legs. For the pain in the legs, we pay attention to Root chakra and meridians that run at the back side of legs.

To ease off the pain, knowledge of a few acupressure points is always helpful:

massage gently in circular motion, light pressure at the beginning

Urinary bladder 23 - on the lower back; for lower back pain

Urinary bladder 40 - in the middle of the crease in the back of the knee;

treats pain along the spine, helps with muscle spasm, for leg and knee pain

Urinary bladder 62 - outside ankle bone, for leg pain, calming the mind

Gallbladder 30 - on the upper buttocks; helps treat lower back pain

Massage therapy

helps relax the muscles, release of endorphins ("feel good chemicals") that act like pain relievers

opens muscles tissues and channels of energy within the body

improves blood flow and helps to ease pain

Self-massage

Put your hands on your hips and breathe, feel your body, massage and rub the area deep breath in and out and then move your hands away from your body (move the energy away). Massage the area around your sacral bone with your thumbs, massage your lower hips and again after your self-massage when you breathe out, move your hands away from your body

Empower your body from inside!

Move, exercise

walking, jogging regularly

stretching regularly - yoga

my favorite poses in yoga to help with sciatica are Lotus Pose (to open the hips), Downward Facing Dog, Dolphin pose, Bharadvaja's Twist, Bound Angle Pose, extended side Angle Pose, extended Triangle Pose, High Lunge, Low Lunge

develop good posture - think about your posture several times a day!!

Use heating pads (or switch to ice pads) for several minutes, placed on the lower

back, depends what would work for you, some people don't like switching from heat pads to ice pads and use only heating pads for 15 minutes

warm baths ( heat loosens up tight muscles)

sleep straight on your back; sleep on the mattress that is not too hard or too soft

don't wear high heels often (bad for the posture)

don't sit for hours, people with oversitting jobs, low-movement jobs (office workers, truck drivers) are in danger to develop sciatica - take breaks and try to move and stretch your body

eat food that help combat inflammation - vitamin B12 is recommended, seafood, brown rice, fish ( magnesium rich food), bananas, apples...

Chiropractor spinal adjustments

Place your hands on the spot where is the pain and breathe deeply. Go inside, be aware, get to know yourself better and believe that all is well, don't have any fear about money, future, relationships and other things that may bother you. Deep breath in and with the deep breath out try to release all the anger, guilt and fear stored in you. Learn how to do central channel breathing and practise several times a day. Be willing to breathe out = release layer after layer of the old deeply buried garbage inside of you.

Massage yourself, love and approve of yourself and I wish your sciatica will bother you less and less until it dissolves completely - this happened to my friend, it can happen to you too.

ALL IS WELL AND YOU ARE SAFE AND LOVED.