ACUPUNCTURE FOR PAIN                                         

Acupuncture’s fame for treating pain only seems to be increasing. With hardly any side effects and safe treatment methods, it’s not a wonder that people are choosing a whole range of treatment options, including but not limited to arthritis, head neck and shoulder, joint pains, lumbar, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint pains, and many more pain syndromes.

Traditionally, pain is reduced or reversed when the qi (energy flow) is restored in the affected area with the central and peripheral nervous system being addressed as well. Non-traditional methods such as electro-acupuncture are also gaining importance when it comes to pain management.

Growing evidence for pain management is seen in the below areas:

Chronic Lower back pain: One of the most sought after treatments in Acupuncture is the musculoskeletal pain syndromes in the lower back. Acupuncture seems to have a better rate of pain reversal than traditional methods especially when managed over a longer period of time. Especially percutaneous nerve stimulation via electro acupuncture relives pain more effectively than regular acupuncture.

Chronic Head, Neck and Shoulder pain:  Acupuncture is shown to have good improvements in the areas of head, neck and shoulder pains while adding to the overall health and vibrancy of life. With relatively lower costs of treatment than standard treatments and little to no side effects, this form of treatment is well received by many.

Arthritis: People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis and in particular knee osteoarthritis benefit hugely from acupuncture. Electro acupuncture with a strong stimulation can be used effectively to treat the symptoms.

Other forms of pain: Such as post-operative pains, chronic prostrate and pelvic pains, lateral epicondylitis pain, labor pain, irritable bowel syndrome etc are showing promising results with the use of acupuncture.

In general it has been found that acupuncture is well received by most takers, with a small percentage having mild symptoms such as tiredness, local pain, etc. Patients experiencing painful conditions are well suited to this form of treatment and can be recommended for many common syndromes.

 

Ref: Web site at www.aafp.org/afp