Does dry needling help with sciatica?
You’ve done “all the right things”, so why are you still in pain?
This is frustrating in any scenario, but especially with sciatica pain. That deep, gnawing, crampy, pulsing pain in your leg is annoying at best and debilitating at worst.
Add in the fact that you’ve done all the things- stretching, rest, walking, posture changes, Googling- and feel no better despite all your efforts, and you’re at your wit’s end.
You don’t know what to do next.
And deep down the voice of fear is getting louder…”What if this is my new normal? What if I have to live with this forever?”
Your brain can take you to some pretty dark places when contemplating these questions.
I am not surprised that you’re feeling confused, overwhelmed, and scared at this point.
But it isn’t because you’re broken or out of options.
It’s because you haven’t been told the real reason you’re having sciatica pain or what to do to actually address the root cause…YET.
That is about to change right now.
I’m going to explain the underlying causes of sciatica, how to fix it, and how dry needling can be a tool on that journey.
Here’s what we are going to talk about in this blog post:
What sciatica really is (and why it’s often misunderstood)
Why stretching and rest don’t always work
Does dry needling help with sciatica?
Who dry needling is most helpful for
How to get the most out of dry needling treatment
What sciatica really is (and why it’s often misunderstood)
To make things very simple, sciatica is an irritation of the sciatic nerve.
The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that arises from nerve roots in the low back and sacral regions and travels down the back of the leg. Irritation of the nerve at any of these points can cause sciatica symptoms.
Think of nerves as a grumpy old cat- they don’t like to be bothered and want space to do what they please. And when that grumpy old cat gets irritated…well, it isn’t pretty.
Nerves are finicky and just want space to do what they’re supposed to do, which is transfer information in the nervous system. Nerves working well allows you to feel sensations and activate your muscles.
When nerves are pissed off, you feel sensations you don’t want to feel (hello burning pain, numbness, and tingling down your leg) and muscles appear to be weak. These are the classic sciatica symptoms.
Common symptoms of sciatica include:
Pain in the buttock that runs down the thigh, sometimes into the lower leg and foot
Numbness or tingling down the leg
Feelings of muscle weakness in the hip or leg
Balance feeling “off”
Nothing is broken. It’s just a matter of identifying why the nerve is irritated and getting that irritation to go away.
In the case of sciatica, the source of irritation usually comes from a combination of the low back and the hip.
Here’s the common misunderstanding: People usually think that a disc problem or pinched nerve is the cause of sciatica pain, but this is oftentimes NOT the answer.
The answer is usually some sort of chemical irritation around the nerves in the back and/or the sciatic nerve. The root is actually inflammation.
*Cue jumping for joy!*
This is great news because inflammation can be easily fixed (and doesn’t involve surgery or invasive procedures).
The cause of this inflammation usually is one or more of the following:
Muscle tension in the low back muscles, glutes, piriformis, or deep hip rotators
Nervous system sensitivity
Excessive sitting
Prolonged stress
Eating inflammatory foods
Stress
Poor sleep
Movement compensations
Why stretching and rest don’t work
Simply put, stretching and rest don’t fix the underlying problems we just listed out. They don’t fix muscle tension or inflammation.
Rest can temporarily help some causes of sciatica pain, however rest will not fix the underlying issue (same goes for injections). It just calms the problem down enough that you don’t have symptoms. But once you get moving again the pain comes right back. Super frustrating, right?
Stretching is also not an effective way to address muscle tension.
Yep, a physical therapist just said that stretching doesn’t fix muscle tension.
Here’s why.
Imagine you have a necklace or rope with a knot in it. How do you get the knot out? Do you:
Pull really hard or each end?
-OR-
Massage and work the knot out gently?
You massage and work the knot out gently, right? Pulling on each end only makes the problem worse.
Same for your muscles and sciatica pain.
Muscles don’t get tight for no reason. Stretching muscles that are tight and guarded only amplifies the pain. You may get momentary relief, but it doesn’t last.
Your body is trying to protect you and needs support in a way that feels safe to the nervous system. Stretching, especially over-stretching, does not accomplish this.
So how do you get the knots out of muscles that are contributing to sciatica pain? Let’s talk about that next.
Does dry needling help with sciatica?
Drumroll…here’s the answer you’ve been waiting for.
Does dry needling help with sciatica?
YES, dry needling can absolutely help with sciatica pain.
But first, let’s understand what dry needling is. (And no, it is not the same as acupuncture.)
Dry needling uses a very thin needle, inserted into muscles, to help muscles relax. It is one of the most effective ways to get deep, complete muscle relaxation. Think of it as the most effective deep tissue massage you’d ever have.
Dry needling works locally by providing a stimulus to help muscles relax. I know it sounds weird to poke a muscle with a needle to get it to relax, but that’s exactly what it does. It also increased blood flow to the area and blood = healing.
It also works by affecting the nervous system. During dry needling treatment, the brain and spinal cord perceive the painful area differently and this helps to improve the relationship between the brain and the painful body part. Think of it as resetting communication between the brain and the muscle.
To learn more about dry needling, what it does, how it differs from acupuncture, and other conditions it helps check out our Dry Needling 101 blog post and our dry needling service page.
So how does dry needling specifically help sciatica?
First off, dry needling helps tight muscles to relax. When tight muscles in the back, glutes, piriformis, and hip rotators are treated with dry needling, it relaxes them. This relieves irritation of the nerves of the low back region and sciatic nerve, which therefore relieves sciatica pain.
It also brings good blood flow to the structures that are irritated. Remember, blood = healing. This increase in blood flow also carries away inflammation that is driving the irritation of the nerves.
Remember how we said that dry needling affects the nervous system through the brain and spinal cord? This is another way dry needling helps with sciatica. It helps the nervous system calm down so that it isn’t trying so hard to protect you.
Lastly, some of these muscles are very deep and can be chronically tight. Dry needling is one of the few ways you can effectively access and treat these deep glute and hip muscles.
Dry needling doesn’t treat the nerve specifically- no needle is going into the nerve. What it does is remove muscular and neurological barriers around the nerve. This allows true healing to happen.
Who dry needling is most helpful for
Dry needling can help anyone! It is especially helpful for:
Persistent buttock/hip/leg pain, numbness, or tingling
Symptoms that don’t go away (or even worsen) with stretching
Muscle tightness that always seems to be there
Pain that fluctuates with stress or activity
A history of “doing all the right things” but feeling stuck
The only group of people it doesn’t help are individuals who are very afraid of needles. When there is a high level of needle fear on board, it can actually stress your nervous system more thinking of a needle being inserted into an already vulnerable place.
In this situation, we utilize other effective strategies to help muscles calm down and clear inflammation from the area. We can use things like trigger point release, cupping, scraping or instrument assisted work, joint mobilizations, exercise, and breathing techniques.
How to get the most out of dry needling treatment
It is important to know that dry needling is a means to an end…not the end itself.
This means that it is important to pair dry needling with exercise, mobility, and lifestyle techniques to get the most out of it.
When treating our clients here at Empower Physio and Wellness who are struggling with sciatica, we love using dry needling and also pair it with any of the following strategies:
Education on why you’re feeling sciatica symptoms, in a way that reduces fear and boosts empowerment
Intentional mobility and strengthening drills
Breathing drills
Core strength and stabilization exercises
Nervous system regulation techniques, including breath work
Optimizing lifestyle factors
Productive stress processing
Which of these strategies we focus on the most depends on YOU as an individual human. No two plans are the same. We focus on the techniques that will move the needle most for you (pun intended) and give you the most bang for your buck. Time is precious, and we aren’t going to overload you with fluff. Only the things that work the most.
For more on this, check out our blog post Dry needling effectiveness: How to get the most out of this technique.
Reminder- Your body isn’t broken…it just needs the right support
We hope that you understand sciatica better as well as the treatments and strategies that actually help you recover from it. Research shows that just knowing what is going on helps to bring pain levels down!
And now you know the answer to the question, “Does dry needling help with sciatica?” It’s a YES!
I’ll leave you with these important things to remember…
Your body isn’t broken, it just needs the right support.
Pain is information, not a failure.
Healing happens when you stop forcing and start listening to what your body is trying to tell you.
There is ALWAYS something you can do to feel better.
Where to find dry needling for sciatica
Have you tried all the things and are now ready for more individualized support?
If you are located in or near Westerville, Ohio we can help you with dry needling to improve your sciatica pain!
You can get started right away by learning more about our physical therapy services, dry needling services, or get in contact with us.
If you have additional questions, we would love to talk with you, hear your story, answer all your questions, and see how we could help.
You can call or text us at (614) 423-9731 or schedule a free discovery call. You can also learn more about Empower Physio and Wellness + our team or check out other services we offer.