BACK TO ASK THE HERBALIST INDEX

ANSWERS FROM KAREN MALLENGER
QUESTION: I am a midwife and I have a client who is having some back/sciatica pains.  She sneezed and has been in pretty bad pain since then.  She has been to a doctor who prescribed Tylenol and a mild muscle relaxer, neither of which are helping much.  She did some research and read that St. John's Wort can be used to help with sciatic pain.  But everything I have found say that it should not be used during pregnancy but I cannot find any reasons for why. I was wondering if you knew anything about that or if you may have any suggestions for anything else that she can do or use.  I would appreciate any wisdom you could give.  Thank you for your time.  Your website is a great resource.

ANSWER: My first suggestion is get her to a chiropractor. Ask around. I'm sure you can find someone reputable. If they want to take all kinds of X-rays and charge you a bunch of money, find another one. A good chiropractor doesn't need X-rays to show them bones out of alignment. I realize there are a lot of quacks in the group, but there are some very good doctors of Chiropractic medicine.  Since it seems this was traumatic (incidental) and not something that developed over time, that would be my first suggestion.

ANSWERS FROM DAVID BRILL

MUSCLE SPASMS
QUESTION:  What can I take for muscle spasms

ANSWER:  For general spasms you would want to use Nervine Herbs such as the following:

Kava Kava
Valerian
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Saint Johnswort
Fresh Oats


MUSCLE TENSION
QUESTION: I need to find something natural for muscle tension. When I get real tense where I can't sleep at all I take a 350 ml. tablet of Tylenol Codeine or Quinine, but I do not want to use drugs, so am looking for something natural to relax my muscles and stop my legs from jerking and twitching at night.

ANSWER:  Scullcap is good for insomnia, restless leg syndrome and nervous tension
Chamomile is good for insomnia, restless leg syndrome, to relax, spasms or cramps
Kava, is good to relax muscular tension, anxiety, restless leg, spasm and cramps.

Additionally Tylenol use is very hard on your liver, I would recommend its discontinuance and the use of Milk Thistle to support your liver to recover from this harsh chemical.