Talk:Sciatica

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Contents

[edit] Radiculopathy

I don't think radiculopathy should be redirected here as it's a more general term that sciatica. Dougher 01:38, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. Radiculopathy no longer redirects here. Please note Talk:Radiculopathy now. Root4(one) 13:14, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] First remarks

Though i was not the one who added acupuncture as the treatment method, but the fact remains it is an effective treatment method. This comes from someone who has seen it first hand. So I dont think that the removal was appropiate. vogon77 02:52, Oct 28, 2004 (UTC)

It's an ad. That's why I pulled it. The person who contributed the line is an alternative medicine practitioner (i.e. a quack) with something to gain from the phrase's inclusion. Now that being said, by you simply witnessing something firsthand doesn't mean anything; it's anecdotal evidence and of no value to the understanding reality based on empirical science. May I ask in what capacity you witnessed this event? I have an issue with the statement because the altmed treatment has not been proven to work. Now, I am willing to concede to leaving the line in, which I've done, but by qualifying it as a treatment that has yet to be proven effective. However, I fear that just leaves the door open for any hairbrained scheme of supposed treatment. Regardless, we'll see how it goes. TimothyPilgrim 12:57, Oct 28, 2004 (UTC)
Any expert in any field who edits Wikipedia to suggest that their field of study is relevant has something to gain from the small grain of added recognition that gives their field and is thus is in some small, obscure way guilty of advertising. Would you like to suggest that people not be permitted to post in their field of expertise? "Advertisement" is if they reference their own businesses website as a reference. Saying Acupuncture is effective in pain management is nothing but a useful addition to Wikipedia, as pain management was one of the first things western research actually did conclusively show Acupuncture to be quite useful for. Zakarria 00:30, 23 October 2005 (UTC)
I am a physician, and much as I would love to label alternative medicine as quackery, (though more out of ignorance than anything else) the fact remains that acupuncture works palliatively in refractory sciatica. -- vogon77 09:00, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
Pilgrim, what is your source for stating that acupuncture has only a placebo (or no) effect on sciatica? Anecdotal evidence from sciatica suferers is more valid than an unsupported claim. -- Jasna, sciatica suferer, Sep. 10th 2006.
As a massage therapist, I have helped to reduce and relieve the pain and disfunction of many sciatica sufferers with manual application of pressure to certain areas of muscle with a known tendency to contract excessively resulting in a phenomena known as referred pain. Acupuncture targets most of the same recognized areas. They both work very well. The efficacy of neither of these treatments is doubted by nearly any professional in the physical therapy/body work field. This includes acupuncturists, massage therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, physicians, surgeons, etc. -Kevin. Pensacola, FL. 10/13/06. 8:15 p.m.

[edit] Alcohol

I suffer from occasional sciatica. One peculiar thing is I always seem to get a nasty case following a night out binge drinking. Nothing in this article mentions the effects of alcohol. Is it a common thing or am I just a freak? --JohnO 07:48, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

One possible explanation: Myofascial trigger points (one known cause of sciatica) are exacerbated by a lack of hydration. Large amounts of alcohol dehydrate many tissues of the body. It could be that the already-strained areas of tissue are negatively effected by the drinking. But that's assuming that your case is resultant form myopathy. Does it also get worse after you perform rigorous physical activity (specifically walking, bending at the waste, climbing stairs and ladders)? -Kevin. Pensacola, FL. 8/13/06 8 :15 p.m.

[edit] Home remedy ok?

I know Wikipedia is not medical advice, but it would be nice to know if there are any dangers involved with doing massage therapy etc. at home (ex. Can stronger or specific types of massage be harmful? Are there things one shouldn't do?) Does anyone here have any sources they can use to answer this? --geekyßroad. meow? 08:49, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm a PT and treat it repeatedly every day. This interesting research about piriformis syndrome also helps to explain why conservative (non-surgical) treatment, such as massage and stretching, can help many people with sciatica:
-- Fyslee 20:14, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Added Lumbar radiculitis and radiculopathy

Hey everybody. Did'nt mean to interupt anything you might be doing, but I was looking to link lumbar radiculopathy to this article so I thought we should at least mention it. If there is a problem, please let me know. Thanks. --Dematt 23:20, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Intro

The intro states that sciatica is leg pain... then says the pain is felt in buttocks, lower back, leg etc. This needs to be revised, please. I'm too tired at the moment to try it, might have a go in the morning. 203.54.133.231 12:59, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

It's done.

I think that the opening sentence "Sciatica is sometimes..." isn't the best encyclopedic form. An article should start with a clear statement of what something is, and if there is something about that topic that is only true sometimes, it should be excluded from the opening sentence/paragraph and mentioned later in the article. Steve carlson 03:57, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Suffering from Sciatica

Hello all,

I am presently suffering from extreme pain due to the herniation of L4 an L5 discs as diagnosed almost 20 years ago. This is but the second experience (the first being about thirteen years ago)with sciatica but by far the worst. Five months have passed and it seems to get worse and worse.

Can anyone give any advice here? Any suggestions for us who are suffering?

I can say acupuncture has not worked for me. I can say the first episode of sciatica was as I walked home less than 200 yards from the chiropracter. I can say I did obtain relief from the normal pains and rawness one encounters from "bulging discs" (though I wasn't suffering from sciatica at the time)from a Spinologist.

For me this Sciatica is a life changing event which has severely affected me mentally, physically and financially. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.101.220.202 (talk) 20:14, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Just remember you are not the only one, although this may not be the best place to discuss it. Though I've never had it, I can empathize about nerve pain! I've also had two friends who've had Sciatica. One who appears to be on the path to recovery through extensive (self and other) rehabilitation, and another who's just had surgery about a month ago for it. Both appear to be doing reasonably well. I'm certain there's some place out there for people with back trouble like this. Root4(one) 04:57, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Acupuncture and massage

Acupuncture and massage never work for sciatica. Gantuya eng (talk) 13:47, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

I have restored acupuncture since I was given this as a fairly routine form of physiotherapy when suffering from this recently. My understanding is that there are different forms of sciatica and different forms of acupuncture. In my case, deep needling was used to encourage elongation of muscles which had been spasming and so relax the tension which was causing the nerve pain. The matter seems quite complex and so blanket statements are not appropriate. Colonel Warden (talk) 12:03, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

The citation given for Acupuncture leads to an article that is far from conclusive. From the abstract: "There was no significant difference between the [acupuncture and placebo] groups for any of the outcome measures at the end of treatment." This seems to me an inadequate source in support of the claim that Acupuncture is effective in treating sciatica. Jeff Wofford (talk) 16:03, 27 May 2008 (UTC)