Sciatica refers to pain in the lower back and possibly radiating down the legs due to the sciatic nerve being pinched or damaged. It is excruciatingly painful! Up to 40% of UK adults suffer sciatic pain during their lifetime.
Symptoms include: lower back pain or lumbago, leg pain, muscle spasms in the back, weakness in the foot/leg, sharp shooting pain down the leg or across the lower back, tingling sensation like pins and needles in the back/leg or stabbing/burning pain in these areas.
Sciatica is commonly caused by historical back injury or a ‘slipped’ disc.
Back pain is experienced by 80% of UK adults at some point in their lives!
It can be caused by: sciatica, lifting heavy things, injury, not doing enough exercise, herniated disc, incorrect posture, kidney infections or dysmenorrhea.
Symptoms include: stiffness, lack of range of pain-free movement, and muscle spasms.
In energetic terms, back issues represent lack of support in your life.
Upper back: feeling unloved or lack of emotional support.
Mid-back: guilt. ‘Get off my back’
Lower back: lack of financial support.
Here are my top 5 tips to keep your back healthy:
- Sulphur and histadine rich foods.
Increase sulphur-rich foods e.g. eggs, onions, asparagus, garlic. Increase histadine-rich foods e.g. meat, fish, cheese, nuts, seeds, eggs, beans.
- Good fats and pineapple.
Eat more fresh pineapple. It contains bromelain which is an anti-inflammatory ingredient. Eat more ‘good’ fats e.g. butter, avocados, coconut oil, essential fatty acids such as omega 3/6/9.
- Transdermal Magnesium.
Use Epsom salts in the bath or a footbath to help sore aching muscles to relax. Magnesium is better absorbed through the skin.
- Massage and osteopathy.
Seeing an osteopath and massage therapist regularly can really help to keep your back healthy and pick up on any small niggly issues early.
- Night-shade vegetables.
Avoid these foods: processed foods, gluten, alcohol, fried foods, citrus fruits, salt, paprika, Solanaceae vegetables which are from the ‘Night-shade’ family including fresh tomatoes, potatoes, aubergine and bell peppers. These can all cause inflammation. Try cutting down on these and see if this makes a difference to your pain levels.
My top homeopathic remedies here are: Hypericum, Coloc and Mag phos.
Please do reach out if you need my homeopathic help with sciatica.
