Pain Disorders
Pain can manifest n the body in various ways. On a graduated scale it can range from mild and irritating to disruptive to life activities to debilitating. Pain is one of the conditions that Acupuncture has earned a reputation for treating extremely well. Numerous studies have and are being conducted that continue to prove its’ effectiveness in treating pain conditions.
Acupuncture for pain has become a popular modality to that is being used by many physiotherapists and chiropractors. This mostly involves treating and releasing trigger points. The difference when seeing a trained acupuncturist is the ability to diagnose conditions from the dual viewpoint of an TCM diagnosis as well as a western based motor-neuron point of view. Often pain conditions that are resistant to treatment have an underlying weaknesses or blockage that need to be addressed to properly alleviate the pain. Underlying issues that may cause pain can range from the tissues being too dry and tight causing chronic tight muscles and pain, to blockages in channels that require releasing, to diet and digestive issues effecting the bodies ability to heal.
Below are commonly seen conditions in the clinic:
Muscular/skeletal conditions
Back, neck and shoulder tension
Sciatica/ piriformis syndrome
Tendinitis and bursitis
Chronic knee pain
Whiplash and neck injury
Sprains
Carpal tunnel
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Internal Medicine Disorders that cause pain
Arthritis
Digestive disorders
Neuropathy
Migraines and headaches
Idiopathic pain (pain for which no cause can be found)
Why Use Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Treatment?
The use of acupuncture to treat pain has increased dramatically in the past few decades, due to a large degree of placebo-controlled studies that have validated it as a reliable method of pain relief.
As published in the Clinical Journal of Pain, “Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for low-back pain treatment, and that acupuncture can maintain positive outcomes for periods exceeding six months or longer without producing the negative side-effects that often accompany more traditional pain remedies such as anti-inflammatory steroids or pain medication,” (Lee et al., 2013. Acupuncture for Acute Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review, Vol. 29, Issue 2, February 2013, accessed September 2013, http://journals.lww.com/clinicalpain/Abstract/2013/02000/Acupuncture_for_Acute_Low_Back_Pain__A_Systematic.12.aspx).
Acupuncture is an effective way to provide both acute and chronic back pain treatment in Calgary for long term back pain relief. An average back pain case requires four to eight treatments to correct.