Sciatica herbal remedy
by Nathan Wei, MD, FACP, FACR
Nathan Wei is a nationally known board-certified rheumatologist and author of the Second Opinion Arthritis Treatment Kit. It's available exclusively at this website... not available in stores.
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There have been claims for a number of herbal and so-called natural remedies for relief of back pain.
Most herbal remedies that are effective contain active ingredients, just as standard medications do, that relieve pain, relax muscles, or increase circulation. In such cases, they are also likely to have similar side effects. For example, in one trial, the herbal pain reliever white willow bark (Assaliz) was as effective as the COX-2 drug rofecoxib (Vioxx). Willow bark contains the active ingredient found in aspirin and so, theoretically, may have the same adverse effects as NSAIDs. A German study on pain management reported that herbal products containing black current leaf or oils, evening primrose, and borage may be useful and safe for pain due to inflammation. According to another German study, harpagophytum (a South African herb commonly called devil's claw or grapple plant) may be useful for back pain.
Because there are no government regulations of these products, neither the effectiveness nor safety of herbal products can be guaranteed.
Alternative or natural remedies are not regulated and their quality is not publicly controlled. In addition, any substance that can affect the body's chemistry can, like any drug, produce side effects that may be harmful. Even if studies report positive benefits from herbal remedies, the compounds used in such studies are, in most cases, not what are being marketed to the public.
There have been a number of reported cases of serious and even lethal side effects from herbal products. In addition, some so-called natural remedies were found to contain standard prescription medication. Most reported problems occur in herbal remedies imported from Asia, with one study reporting a significant percentage of such remedies containing toxic metals.
The following website is building a database of natural remedy brands that it tests and rates. Not all are yet available (www.consumerlab.com).
The Food and Drug Administration has a program called MEDWATCH for people to report adverse reactions to drugs and untested substances, such as herbal remedies and vitamins (800-332-1088).
From the Chinese viewpoint, patients who present lumbago or sciatic pain are usually diagnosed as suffering from a type of bi syndrome. Bi syndromes involve blockage and pain and are especially prevalent in the lower half of the body. Bi syndromes are often caused by unknown factors; that is, there may be little apparent reason for the occurrence, though a significant injury to the back would be an obvious cause. From the period of the Neijing (ca. 100 B.C.) to the present, bi syndrome has been said to be induced mainly by the influences of cold, damp, and wind. Because of the location in the lower body, and the tendency of the pain to radiate downwards, the disorder is frequently attributed to a combination of cold and dampness: these are yin factors that have a natural downward course. Wind, an external pathogenic factor of mysterious nature, is thought to carry the pathogenic influences into the body and contribute to the variable nature of the pain.
Internally, a deficiency of kidney yang can give rise to cold and damp syndromes affecting the lower body. In this case, external wind may not be a factor in causing the pain, though it can still combine with cold and dampness to exacerbate the underlying condition. Chinese herbal therapies for sciatica and lumbago usually involve warming the kidney yang, dispelling chill, clearing dampness (usually by invigorating the spleen function), and resolving wind-cold-damp complexes (e.g., relying on certain antirheumatic herbs). There are a wide range of potentially useful herbs for these categories of therapy, but certain ones have been emphasized in traditional and patent formulas for treating sciatica and lumbago. Other painful conditions of the lower limbs, such as gout and knee arthralgia, are treated with similar herbs and formulations.
Oil of wintergreen, which contains methyl salicylate, is widely used externally for its anti-inflammatory activity for arthritis, rheumatism, sciatica, and sore muscles. The tea of the herb has a refreshing astringent taste and is used as well for nephritis and neuralgia, irritated bladder, and children's headaches.
Part Used: Herb
Preparation/Dosage: 1 cup 2-3 x daily (Infusion)
Organs/Systems Affected: Integumentary, Digestive
Oil of wintergreen is too toxic to be used internally.
Source: C. Hobbs' Herbal Advisor.
Supplementary support for the nerves speeds the healing of a sciatica. B vitamins are essential sublingual tablets are recommended. Calcium and magnesium are helpful against spasms which often contribute to the pain. For milder cases or chronic recurrences, evening primrose oil is an excellent anti-inflammatory; its essential fatty acids nourish the nerves.
The intense pain and tension associated with a sciatic attack can be quickly relieved with a number of herbal remedies.
Rub St. John's wort oil diluted in olive oil onto the affected area, especially before going to sleep, to relax the nerves.
A hot, stinging-nettle bath is a proven remedy for acute sciatica. Soak 4 cups of stinging nettle leaves for twelve hours in cold water. Warm up the liquid; strain and add to bath water. The patient's chest should be out of the water. Soak for twenty minutes, do not dry off, but put on a cotton-terry robe and sweat in bed for one hour.
Chamomile has a calming and healing effect on smooth muscle tissue. Apply directly onto skin or take internally as tea or 10-20 drops of extract in a cup of liquid daily.
Horsetail builds connective tissue. Take as a tea or extract as directed for chamomile.
If there is tension due to emotional stress, take borage, St. John's wort, lemon balm or valerian tea three times daily for their calming properties. If you have a juicer, 1 tbsp. of fresh horsetail, yarrow, borage or celery juice daily is an excellent way of supporting the adrenal glands and soothing the nerves.
Hot, moist packs help relieve the pain and increase blood circulation. Apply chamomile, horsetail, hayflower, or white or black mustard seed. A mustard seed pack should not be left on for more than ten minutes because it can irritate the skin. You may prefer to apply a flax seed pack. Put crushed seeds into a small cotton sack and dip for ten minutes into hot water before applying.
Garlic milk helps reduce inflammation in the case of a bad sciatica attack. Crush two raw garlic cloves and mix the pulp with 1/4 cup of milk. Bring this to the boiling point if you feel the raw garlic flavor is too strong, but raw garlic is the most effective. Drink 1/2 cup daily.
More useful herbs
Aspilia, Cinchona, Elder, Feverfew, Henbane, Passion Flower, Peppermint, Thyme, Wintergreen, Yellow Jessamine.
Homeopathy
In acute pain use the appropriate remedy in a 30th potency hourly or as needed. In more chronic conditions, one to three doses a day suffice.
Ammonium mur
Chronic sciatica with shooting and tearing into tips of toes. Heel pain.
Vise-like backache with contraction of hamstrings, shortened muscles.
Worse: sitting, walking erect, at night, in bed, left side, motion or rest.
Better: lying, rubbing, warm bath, walking stooped, limbering up.
Arsenicum
Attacks of burning pain, like hot needles. Pain into toes. Aching heels.
Boiling sensations. Restless, weak, exhausted. Sciatica from the cold.
Anxiety, fear of death. Chilliness. Worse: right side, midnight, after exertion, damp, cold. Better: warmth, hot compress, gentle walking.
Chamomilla
Extremely intense, tearing pains from buttocks to heel with numbness.
Pain drives one out of bed at night. Burning of feet. Weak, heavy limbs.
Spasms, cramps in calves, hot sweats. Restless legs, stiffness. Irritable.
Worse: warmth, night, lying on painless side, stretching, after anger.
Colocynthis
Acute phase with neuralgic, shooting pain, radiating to the knee, heel.
Intense, vice like cramps and intense spasms. Forced to limp. Tingling.
Worse: motion, cold, damp, night, from anger. No position relieves.
Better: heat, pressure, bending the leg, lying on the painful side.
Phytolacca
Aching pain and sudden shooting down leg or down outside of thighs.
Much stiffness. Contracted hamstrings, aching heels. Great weakness.
Restless, yet worse from motion. Knotting and cramps come and go.
Worse: damp, cold, motion, pressure, rising up. Better: warm, dry, lying.
Rhus tox
Intense attacks of burning, tearing pain. Onset after strain, overuse.
Pain down back of thighs. Legs feel dead, wooden, stiff. Cramps in legs.
Worse: initial motion, after rest, cold, damp, night, overexertion.
Better: heat, rubbing, continued motion, stretching. Much restlessness.
What else you can do
Hot, moist clay poultices help with stiffness and bring relief from the pain.
Gentle massage will relax nerves and sore muscles.
After the attack has subsided, gentle stretching and muscle-strengthening exercises help relieve the pain.
How much to take
Vitamin B complex, 50 mg three times daily
Vitamin B12, sublingual tablet, 100mcg
Calcium, 1,000 mg
Magnesium, 500 mg
Evening primrose oil, two 500 mg capsules three times daily
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