Acupuncture for Chronic Pain?
Is your chronic pain under control? If you're still experiencing pain despite taking medication or faithfully performing physical therapy exercises, your symptoms may not be well controlled. Acupuncture offers an effective natural pain relief option for many types of chronic conditions.
Acupuncture Relieves the Pain of Many Chronic Conditions
Acupuncture targets imbalances in your body that can lead to pain. When you're healthy and pain-free, an invisible energy called Qi flows effortlessly through your body. If Qi becomes blocked in any of the meridians that carry the energy, your health may suffer. In addition to causing or worsening pain, Qi blockages may be responsible for numbness, nausea, fatigue, digestive problems, insomnia, and other issues.
Acupuncture treatments restore your body's natural balance by eliminating Qi blockages. Thin needles inserted into strategic spots along the meridians break apart the blockages, reducing pain and improving healing.
Poking needles in your skin might sound like a bad idea when you're already dealing with pain, but acupuncture treatments are virtually pain-free. At most, you might feel a slight ache or minor tingling sensation when the needles are inserted. Once they're in place, you might not even notice them.
Is Acupuncture Right for You?
Acupuncture is a safe, effective treatment for people of all ages and can be used to treat pain related to:
- Sprains
- Strains
- Broken Bones
- Fibromyalgia
- Scoliosis
- Migraines
- Tension Headaches
- Neck, Back, Shoulder, Hip, and Knee Pain
- Nerve Pain
- Sinusitis
- Golf and Tennis Elbow
- Arthritis
- Gout
- Frozen Shoulder
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Menstrual Pain
- Sciatica
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Pain Relief Benefits of Acupuncture
Acupuncture keeps pain under control by:
- Activating Natural Painkillers. Does your pain medication make you feel dizzy, tired, or nauseated? Acupuncture triggers the release of endorphins and serotonin, natural painkillers that don't cause negative side effects. These hormones decrease pain while enhancing relaxation. Wondering if acupuncture really helps? A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Pain in 2018 reported that acupuncture controlled pain due to chronic headache, shoulder pain, osteoarthritis, and non-specific musculoskeletal pain better than sham acupuncture treatment or no treatment.
- Keeping Muscles Loose. Are your muscles tight and sore after living with chronic pain for weeks, months, or years? Unfortunately, tight muscles may only worsen your pain. Acupuncture treatments relax tight muscle fibers, easing pain.
- Changing Pain Signals. You don't feel pain until your brain receives signals from your nerves. Acupuncture treatment stops pain by preventing signals from reaching the brain or changing the way the brain processes the signals. According to a review published in Orthopedic Reviews in 2021, acupuncture could reduce pain, help you sleep better, and improve the quality of your life if you have fibromyalgia. Those results aren't limited to fibromyalgia. In fact, acupuncture offers the same impressive pain relief results for many other painful conditions.
- Improving Circulation. Acupuncture treatments ease pain by improving blood flow. Blood carries oxygen, nutrients, and substances essential for healing. Improving circulation decreases inflammation, a key factor in chronic pain. Acupuncture may also improve lymph circulation, making it easier to remove waste products and damaged cells from the body.
- Regulating the Nervous System. Chronic pain can affect the function of your nervous system and increase sensitivity. Acupuncture calms and regulates the nervous system, reducing aches and pain.
Acupuncture can be used on its own or in combination with your current treatments or medications.
Ready to find out if acupuncture can relieve your chronic pain? Contact our office to schedule an appointment.
Sources:
NCBI: Orthopedic Review: Efficacy of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia, 6/22/2021
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8567806/
PubMed: Journal of Pain: Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis, 5/2018
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29198932/
Harvard Health Publications: Relieving Pain with Acupuncture, 6/15/2016
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/relieving-pain-with-acupuncture
The Washington Post: Does Acupuncture Work for Chronic Pain?, 7/24/2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/07/24/does-acupuncture-work-chronic-pain/
American Family Physician: Acupuncture for Pain, 7/15/2019