on sciatica edgar cayce viewpoint

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i found this on the edgar cayce site

 

http://www.edgarcayce.org/health/database/health_resources/sciatica.a

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the site contains a wealth of other useful info on many other

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The Cayce Health Database -

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SCIATICA

 

Sciatica can be a very painful and disabling problem. It

involves pain in the leg, which is caused by irritation of the

sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body.

 

The sciatic nerve is formed by lumbar (lower back) nerve roots,

where the nerves emerge from the spine. These nerve roots join

together at the sides of the spine to form the large unified bands,

which are the right and left sciatic nerves. These nerves course

downward from the lower back, through the buttocks, and into the

thighs, each one eventually splitting into two major branches (the

tibial nerve and the common peroneal nerve) just above the knee.

These smaller nerve branches provide the nerve supply to the lower

leg, which is essential for controlling the movement of the leg

muscles. Sciatica can involve pain at any point along the course of

the sciatic nerve and its branches, from the lower back to the tip

of the big toe, but it most commonly refers to pain in the leg.

 

Though most nerves are threadlike in appearance, the sciatic

nerve is more accurately visualized as a thick, smooth gray rope,

often approaching an inch in diameter. The bulk of the nerve (and

the many layers of nerve fibers within it) make it particularly

susceptible to pressure and irritation.

 

Modern Medical, Osteopathic and Chiropractic Explanations of

Sciatica

 

The current conventional understanding of sciatica is that it

most frequently occurs as the result of pressure on nerve roots, due

to a bulging or ruptured spinal disc. These discs are composed of a

strong outer layer of circular fibers and an inner layer of a gel-

like material. Spinal discs act as shock-absorbing cushions between

the vertebrae (spinal bones).

 

If the outer fibers of a spinal disc give way due to a traumatic

injury or long-term gradual weakening, the gel can slip out through

the tear in the outer layer. In most instances, it remains connected

to the main mass of gel in the disc (this is called a protrusion),

but in other more severe cases, it breaks off (this is called a

prolapse) to form a " free fragment. " Protrusions and prolapses

usually occur in the area of the nerve root. Because the root is

exquisitely sensitive, this results in the classic sharp leg pain of

sciatica. If a large disc rupture occurs, and a significant amount

of the gel breaks loose, there may be no good alternative to back

surgery. Fortunately, most cases of sciatica are less severe and can

be treated less invasively.

 

Sciatica caused by mild to moderate disc bulges can be treated

by chiropractors and osteopaths with specialized forms of traction

(the McManis and Cox methods), spinal adjustments or manipulations,

and stretching exercises for the lower back.

 

Sciatica-like leg pain can also come from spinal problems not

directly related to the spinal discs. Spinal imbalances, which

chiropractors call " subluxations " and osteopaths call " lesions, " may

involve the locking of joints (places where two bones meet) of the

lumbar vertebrae or of the sacroiliac joints, located in the back of

the pelvis. These are a common source of both lower back pain and

the leg pain that sometimes accompanies it. Such subluxations and

lesions are best treated with manual manipulation by a chiropractor

or osteopath.

 

The Cayce Readings Approach to Sciatica

 

The Cayce readings that are related to sciatica are consistent

with the modern health perspective, insofar as they demonstrate a

recognition that the symptoms relate to nerve irritation in the

lower back.

 

But the Cayce readings go further. They rarely conclude that the

mechanical problems of spinal alignment, joint motion and nerve

pressure are the whole story. Instead, they point toward potentially

deeper levels of causation, particularly with regard to the organs

of digestion, elimination, and circulation.

 

The Cayce health readings always evaluate the primary symptom

(in this case sciatica) in relation to the rest of the body, with

its many interdependent systems. Cayce's full-body, all-systems'

approach is an excellent early example of holistic medicine. Readers

of the Cayce material find that symptoms are never viewed in

isolation, but rather as part of a whole system, which includes not

only the entire body, but also the mind and spirit that infuse the

body.

 

Commitment to Healing: Making a Choice

 

Before delving into Cayce's physical recommendations for the

sciatica-sufferers who consulted him, its important to remember the

underlying body-mind-spirit context of the readings. As Cayce said

in reading 3138-1:

 

" ...unless there is the determination in self, as well as those

who may be necessary to make the applications for corrections with

this body, we would not begin, but rather rely upon the

sedatives ... [which] are not curative forces at all. "

 

In other words, patients face a choice between suppressing their

symptoms on the one hand, and, on the other, pursuing deeper levels

of healing. Making this choice requires the individual to examine

his or her goals. The Cayce readings are saying that unless these

goals include a commitment to pursuing deeper levels of the healing

process, suppressing the pain with medication may be all that can

be hoped for. The readings by no means endorse such a course of

action, but recognize that each individual has free will in this

matter.

 

These deeper levels of healing may involve much more than the

disappearance of a particular pain or malfunction, and the healing

process may be demanding of both the patient and the doctor. In some

of the cases in this file, the patient did not follow Cayce's

recommendations, and in other cases the directions were followed

only in part. Those cases in which the greatest success was achieved

appear to have involved people who made a commitment to healing and

then followed through.

 

 

Causes of Sciatica According to the Cayce Readings

 

The Cayce readings on sciatica refer consistently to three key

causes of the condition:

 

Injuries to the spine or spinal muscles

Congestion in the colon (large intestine)

A general condition of acidity in the body

Interestingly, the readings indicate that while a back strain or

other back injury usually plays a role in the development of

sciatica, it is not often the primary role. Instead, a more wide-

ranging condition of acidity and toxicity is seen as the central

cause. Cayce is saying that the sciatica stems from an overall

imbalance in the body, which takes the form of a specific symptom

(in this case sciatica) as the result of a particular injury

sustained by the body. Reading 2516-2 states this concisely:

 

Q: What produced these poisons and nerve pressures in the first

place?

A: Unbalanced condition and lack of proper eliminations.

Q: Is the condition due to an injury, a wrench in my back, which I

received in the spring?

A: This, of course, only localized it.

 

In reading 404-12, the questioner asks why the colon affects the

sciatic nerve. Cayce replies, " Because the nerves connect directly

from one to the other! " Modern medical textbooks recognize this

phenomenon, referring to it as the viscero-somatic reflex

(viscera=internal organ, soma=body). Other examples of such reflexes

occur when people with heart problems experience pain in their left

arm, or people with gall bladder trouble have right shoulder pain.

(It should be noted that most cases of left arm and right shoulder

pain are not caused by the heart and gall bladder.)

 

Cayce's approach expands the conventional view of sciatica. The

inclusive and holistic context mapped out by the Cayce readings is

more akin to the approach of Eastern healing arts than of Western

medicine.

 

Cayce Recommendations for Treatment of Sciatica

 

Among the physical treatments Cayce advised for sciatica are:

 

a natural diet low to moderate in fat, including plenty of

vegetables

colonic irrigations

spinal manipulation

massage with oils including olive and peanut

low-power electrical stimulation with the Wet Cell Appliance, which

was used to electrically transmit gold chloride ions into the body

external herb and mineral applications, including mullein, Glyco-

Thymoline, and hot Epsom salts

low-power electrical stimulation with the radio-active [radial]

appliance

Massage, manipulation, the electrical therapies, and the

external applications can be understood, for the most part, as

methods of balancing the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems. As

such, Cayce's recommendation to use them is largely consistent with

methods of healing widely accepted today in the health professions,

though the form of electrical stimulation favored by the Cayce

readings is of a different nature than the higher-intensity

electrical therapies in common use today.

 

Where the Cayce readings differ most significantly from current

conventional treatment is with regard to the emphasis they place on

diet, and the roles of circulation and elimination. Most

contemporary doctors who deal with sciatica consider diet,

circulation, and elimination largely irrelevant. The Cayce readings,

consistent with the osteopathy of Cayce's era, consider it to be

crucial.

 

The readings assert that poor diet (high in fats, low in

nutrients) creates a drag upon the overall system. This results in a

buildup of toxins in the system, particularly in the colon. The

levels of the spine that provide the nerve supply to the colon also

supply the sciatic nerve. Nerve distress signals from the colon are

transmitted to the spine at these levels, which in turn activates

pain pathways in the sciatic nerve. This feedback loop goes in both

directions, further reinforcing the vicious cycle.

 

Cayce's therapies seek to interrupt the cycle at several points

along the way, through colonic irrigations to cleanse the colon of

toxic matter, spinal manipulation to correct structural imbalances

and normalize the nerve supply, massage to stimulate circulation and

relax tense muscles, and electrical therapies to balance body

energies. These, combined with a non-toxic natural diet, provide a

program for both symptom relief and improved overall health.