Dr Maggie Ju Acupuncture London Chelsea, North Kensington, Notting Hill, and Richmond

Sciatica is a common type of neuropathic pain that is characterized by a shooting pain radiating from the lower back down to the leg, sometimes accompanied by numbness and muscle weakness. This condition is often caused by the compression of the spinal nerve root by a disc herniation, which accounts for 85% of all cases. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients with sciatica suffer from persistent pain lasting a year or more due to the lack of effective treatments. This may eventually lead to neurological deficits and functional disability, significantly impacting their quality of life. Acupuncture has been recommended as an effective method for pain relief in patients with sciatica. A recent review aimed to assess the published clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy for treating sciatica. The review analyzed a total of 30 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), involving 2,662 participants. The results showed that the clinical efficacy of acupuncture w...

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body and begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back and runs through the buttock area down to the lower limb ending at the feet. Sciatic pain is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve. Anything that irritates this nerve can cause pain, ranging from mild to severe. It is one of the causes for low back pain. Sciatic pain or Sciatica is an extremely common pain condition and is estimated to affect around 5 percent of men and 4 percent of women in their lifetimes. The main symptom is a shooting pain anywhere along the sciatic nerve; from the lower back, through the buttock, and down the back of either leg. The pain may be stabbing, burning or shooting. It can be also accompanied with tingling like pins and needles, or numbness, and muscle weakness. The most typical symptom is unilateral leg pain radiating to the foot or toes that is greater than low back pain. It may involve increased pain on straight leg raising and n...