Research has confirmed acupuncture’s pain-relief potential and doctors are now recommending acupuncture over pills. Nerve pain does not respond well to prescription pain relievers, including narcotics. Chronic pain such as low back pain, sciatica, and arthritis can be frustrating for the sufferer when left untreated. 

Relieving Pain With Acupuncture

Acupuncture is most commonly known to treat various conditions of pain such as low-back pain, neck pain, knee pain, and headaches just to name a few.

More than 79 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.

Neuropathic Pain vs. Structural Pain:

Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain, or simply nerve pain, is defined as having no structural cause and the nerve fibers themselves might be injured, dysfunctional, or damaged. Generally, there’s a problem with aggravated sensory nerves, which will not stop firing and therefore produce pain. 

Structural Pain

Structural problems are those where something in the body is actually pushing on a sensory nerve or a group of sensory nerves. 

A perfect example would be a bulging disc impinging on a group of spinal sensory nerves.

Treating Neuropathic Pain

Acupuncture is a neural procedure and it takes a neural procedure to solve a neural problem. Quite frankly, acupuncture is the very best way to treat these issues.

Acupuncture stimulates neural nodes that affect both the central and peripheral nervous systems. These nervous system signals then trigger the brain to release the body’s internal chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins. These both have pain-relieving properties and improve immune function. 

If everything is working properly, the body will naturally release these pain-relieving chemicals. They plug up the pain receptor sites in the brain, all along the spine, and on the capillary beds where you feel the pain. They stop chronic pain and allow the body to return to normal function.

For those patients who suffer from chronic discomfort, this mechanism is no longer working.  The neural signal from the site of pain to the brain has diminished over time and is no longer triggering the brain to release the pain-relieving enkephalins.

Acupuncture will raise the signal strength and the result is a sudden and dramatic relief from pain. For this reason, we can treat an incredibly wide variety of pain problems.

Treating Structural Pain

When a patient’s pain is caused by a structural problem, where tissue is pushing directly on a sensory nerve or group of nerves, raising the signal strength alone will not solve this type of problem. 

These patients usually need more invasive procedures, such as surgery, and we can assist our patients in a referral to the proper Western medicine specialist.

Back Pain & Sciatica

Back pain, whether caused by chronic sciatica, a bulging disc, or arthritis is very painful and can be disabling. 

A person suffering from sciatica has an inflamed sciatic nerve. This nerve starts roughly at the base of the spine, travels down the back of the leg and then stops in your foot. 

Sciatic pain can be difficult to treat because nerve pain does not respond well to painkillers. Acupuncture works by stimulating the nervous system and allowing for the body to regain its natural balance and function.

Shoulder Pain

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, attached together by ligaments and protected by cartilage. Tendons of the muscles that provide movement to this joint are tightly packed in this small space.  Shoulder pain is often difficult to treat because of the complexity of the shoulder joint. 

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition in which the swelling in the shoulder joint prevents the arm from moving in a full range of motion and can be very painful.  Often times an initial injury, like a tendon tear, will cause additional inflammation which in turn causes more swelling and pain in this joint. Acupuncture is very effective at reducing this secondary swelling and pain.  

From there, a shoulder may need time to resolve the initial tear, or in more severe cases a surgery to correct the structural problem.  In this case, acupuncture can be a successful way to help keep pain at bay while you wait for a surgical procedure, and to aid in post-surgical recovery.

Arthritis

Arthritis can be widespread or it can be concentrated in a knee, low back, or shoulder.

Arthritic pain can be felt anywhere in the body where there is a joint. It is a very common health ailment for the general public and with early management, arthritis pain does not have to be disabling. 

Those that suffer from arthritis will likely find relief from acupuncture treatments because acupuncture treats the whole body and promotes overall wellness. Arthritis sufferers likely have arthritis in more than one place and analgesics only help for so long.

You can live with arthritis for a long time without pain if you make changes in your lifestyle that include a whole-body approach to your well-being. 

Our treatments for arthritis involve a combination of pain relief, reduction of inflammation, dietary assessment, and emotional support.

A Whole-Body Medical System

Chronic low-grade pain can lead to inactivity or lack of enjoyment in activities because the pain is just too much to deal with. People who suffer from chronic pain are more prone to depression because they are no longer able to do things they once enjoyed. They may suffer loneliness and feel that they are suffering alone. 

As a whole-body medical system, this is the kind of condition Chinese Medicine treats with high success resulting in an overall reduction of pain and an increase in your mood and vitality.

Schedule an appointment with us today to begin treating your pain.