Pain management is one of the most common reasons people seek acupuncture. That’s because it works! It’s been widely researched in China, the U.S and all over the world and has been shown to be effective for many cases of chronic and acute types of pain. While the reasons behind the pain can be complex, the mechanism of treatment is simple: by inserting a sterile needle into the body, it calls upon the body’s natural healing abilities to rush to the area, surrounding it with red and white blood cells, oxygen, and plasma.
A person’s constitution, as well as the history of WHY the person has pain, is also widely explored. This ensures that the treatment is customized to fit the person’s exact needs, not only to address the pain itself, but also to help prevent the pain from recurring. This is what sets acupuncture apart from Western modalities of pain management.
Evidence for the Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Back Pain
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has published a number of studies that show acupuncture is quite effective as a pain management therapy. They have demonstrated that it is effective in treating neck, back, and joint pain in a multitude of studies.
In their examination of treating chronic pain using acupuncture, the NIH concluded that, “Acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider.” They found that those undergoing treatment during the study had positive results and subsided pain. According to PracticalPainManagement.com, “A review article found pain relief using acupuncture comes from deactivating the source of pain, modulating endorphin levels.” Even WebMD.com writes that, a “[…] recent review of 22 acupuncture studies showed that it provided short-term relief from chronic back pain.”
This implies that alongside acupuncture treatment, eating well and taking care of your body in other ways such as eating well and exercising regularly can help your back pain.
Pain Relief is Just One Benefit of Acupuncture
For those suffering from long term, chronic pain – only one thing matters: relief. Chronic pain can degrade the quality of a person’s life, and make day to day activity unbearable. Those who suffer from it can lose their ability to work and often lose the desire to do the things they enjoy.
Effective pain management can absolutely improve a person’s quality of life. While western pain relievers do work, the side effects and risk of addiction make them sub-optimal. The job of the acupuncturist is to address chronic pain and offer a non-addictive, non-western pain relief option. Acupuncture is safe, natural and drug-free.
When we consider the ability of acupuncture to decrease the need for opiates and other dangerous painkillers, it’s easy to see how acupuncture not only relieves pain, but also saves lives.
Give us a call today if you or a loved one is suffering from pain.