A common question hanging on the lips of many people with back pain is, “Is acupuncture effective to help reduce my back pain, and is it safe?”
Acupuncture is a physical therapy from ancient China that has grown to become a widely researched and sought-after method for solving various body ailments, including back pain.
While you may want to talk to your doctor about your decision to try acupuncture for your particular back pain-related symptoms, acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for back pain, especially when administered by a skilled and licensed acupuncturist.
How Acupuncture Can Help Back Pain
The administering of acupuncture is traditional and involves inserting thin needles into various strategic points of the body. These needles are tiny. After a person’s first acupuncture treatment they often comment that they are relieved to discover that not only didn’t the acupuncture needles cause any form of harm, pain, or discomfort on the body, the sensation was actually very relaxing.
Traditional Chinese medicine has discovered over 2,000 of these points around the human body, which are connected by pathways that aid the flow of energy called Qi – voiced as “chee.”
According to acupuncture experts, when these points are stimulated, it helps to correct Qi imbalances and boost energy flow, which in turn relieves pain and improves the overall health of a patient.
The positive effect is believed to be stimulating the central nervous system, generating chemical releases into the brain, spinal cord, and muscles. The availability of these chemicals in the human system will either produce bodily changes that will boost well-being or alter the experience of pain.
Some acupuncture pressure points for lower back pain include hand points, back of knees points, hip points, footpoints, stomach points, and lower back points.
For upper back pain, acupuncture points include the neck, head, upper back, and shoulders. They are also referred to as thoracic back pain.
Acupuncture According to Other Theories
The flow of chemicals such as endorphins to suppress body pains can be activated by speeding the relay of electromagnetic signals. This may also aid the release of immune system cells in the body.
Studies have shown that acupuncture helps to trigger the release of brain chemicals – natural opioids, which can ease pain and promote sound sleep.
Acupuncture has also helped stimulate pain relief for neuromuscular issues that may not have lots of pain remedy options. These include conditions such as post-surgery recovery, fibromyalgia, headaches, sciatica, musculoskeletal pain, and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
Key Reasons to Consider Acupuncture For Back Pain Relief
People with one form of back pain experience or the other usually search for quick ways to alleviate their pains. But sometimes, the treatment they opt for may temporarily alleviate back pain while the real issue is left untreated.
There are several benefits of using acupuncture for relief from back pain.
1. It Aids the Release of Healing Chemicals and Natural Opioids
An experienced acupuncturist can help administer treatment for back pain by stimulating the central nervous system, which prompts the production of beneficial chemicals into the muscles, brain, and spinal cord of a patient. Chemicals such as serotonin and endorphins are released to help lessen and eliminate back pain. This process helps to improve the total wellness of a patient.
Acupuncture also triggers the release of natural opioids within the human body, which help to alleviate pains. And since this treatment method also helps restore biochemical balance and boost energy, it fosters a patient’s natural healing abilities, promoting both emotional and physical wellness.
2. It Eliminates Body Blockages
Ancient Chinese medicine practices believe that a human experiences body pains when there is a blockage in their energy channels. When acupuncture is administered, it eliminates these blockages and allows the smoother flow of energy around the body, positively impacting health.
3. It Improves Brain Chemistry
Acupuncture helps to modify brain chemistry by altering the production of neurotransmitters that serve to improve the body’s functioning.
It has been discovered that these natural chemicals may either generate chemical and hormone release that would influence the body’s internal regulating system or change the pain experience.
What to Look Out for During Acupuncture
What should you look out for during a session with an acupuncturist? First, a practitioner will evaluate your back pain condition and take a record of your lifestyle habits and health history.
Thereafter, the practitioner will determine the appropriate amount of needles that would be needed for the procedure and also their best location.
You will need to lie in a very comfortable position while the needles – having about the diameter of a human hair – will be inserted into points around the body. Many patients have affirmed that they do not feel the insertions at all. The whole process takes about 30-minutes, and most patients have said that they find it relaxing.
A Bradenton acupuncturist, Dr. Barry Greenberg, who has had 36-years of experience in the field, has said that more than 90 per cent of his patients with back pain issues improved tremendously after two to three sessions. But then, the number of treatments you’ll receive will be dependent on how fast your health improves.
How To Find an Acupuncturist?
An Acupuncturist could be a doctor, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant with a masters or doctorate in the field. Such should also have the Oriental medicine from an accredited Institution with a state license to practice. A provider could also be exclusively trained in acupuncture.
To find the best one for you, you can consider getting a referral from your primary care doctor or other medical practitioners. Ensure that such has been certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and be backed by the state acupuncture board license.
You will get top-level therapy at Acupuncture Center Of Bradenton, with over 30 years of experience treating different kinds of acute and chronic pain conditions. Services for communities such as acupuncture Sarasota FL, Bradenton, and Palmetto, are being offered, among others.
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture list will also provide you with options that are largely made up of medical doctors. Better still, you can check through the Acupuncture Referral Service, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, or the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.