Sciatica and the Meridian Flow Wheel

In mid-June, 2011, coinciding with date of the lunar eclipse, I leaned forward and felt my sacroileac joint complain loudly. Pain shot down from the middle of my right buttock through my ankle and toes. I find the human capacity to carry only a dim memory of prior pain remarkable. If not for that, few siblings would be born! Years ago, the result of being rear-ended in an auto accident. I was diagnosed with two “bulging” discs at L4-5 and L5-S1; Qigong and swimming have kept awareness of this old injury but a dim memory.

I read and often sharie with students that when the National Institutes of Health conducted a study of the best intervention to relieve sciatic pain, hydration was the most effective..Two days before injuring my sacroileac joint, I had a bout of severe diarrhea, brought on by who knows what. I got dehydrated so quickly that my medical office was unable to get an IV running. On the way home, I stopped to get soup to accomplish the task of rehydration. It would be a fair guess to assume that, between dehydration and the lack of success in getting an IV started, I was in an extreme state of stress and tension, and that’s when my back “snapped.”

I have improved considerably since then. At its most acute stage, I noticed that I would wake around 3 AM and although Tylenol would work at other times, nothing would relieve the pain between 3 and 7 AM. My knowledge of the meridian clock and awareness of the role of polarities proved helpful. 3-5 PM is bladder time, the meridian most closely associated with the nerves. That gave me a context to understand why pain was so excrutiating starting between 3-5.

I also was aware that, until I was able to move my bowels, the pain would remain at a high pitch.Again, awareness that 5-7 AM is Large Intestine time, which is in polarity with Kidney (5-7 PM) helped me understand better how everything is related. That knowledge also helped me understand how the initial bout of severe diarrhea would make my kidneys, and the area of the spine most closely associated with them, more vulnerable. I ended up having an MRI while things were still in an acute stage. The MRI revealed discs impinging on nerve roots at L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1. This area of the spine is closely associated with the ming men point and is said to be the origin of kidney energy. I understood that this episode could well have been triggered by dehydration along with the ensuing tension.

It has long fascinated me how useful an explanation can be. As long as it is plausible, and not a fear generating diagnosis or a set of negative predictions, a diagnosis can be very reassuring. When I read the MRI report I felt absolved in a strange way, somehow reassured that I wasn’t making this up. Aware that dehydration had played a role in injury to the sacroileac joint, though it did not reduce my pain, served to be soothing information as well. One of the many takeaways is knowing that if I should ever have another dramatic bout of diarrhea I will not hesitate to get more immediate medical attention.

I was scheduled to lead a retreat in Asheville, North Carolina and the sciatic pain was still keeping me from sleeping well. I vacillated between persisting in going and thinking I ought to cancel. In the end I determined that it would be better to lead the retreat and trust that things would go well enough. I knew I was likely to feel better as a result. It’s much easier to do even the daily energy routine that is part of Eden Energy Medicine when leading a group in the activity. Further, my retreat involves spending the entire week using a variety of techniques to shift energy, release pain, get in touch with and transform emotions, and identify and change limiting beliefs. It turned out to be a good decision. Each day the pain level decreased and I felt more like my ‘old’ self.

An important takeaway was that, if I’d hadn’t been away immediately after the MRI, I undoubtedly would have agreed to a cortisone shot or some other intervention. However, by the time I returned and saw the orthopedic physician again I was enough improved that he suggested only continuing with physical therapy..I’m also fortunate to be working with a physical therapist who has studied many subtle energy methods, and has just completed a course in working with the nerves roots that are involved in spinal stenosis and sciatic pain. She has helped me considerably.