Acupuncture - An Eastern Approach to the Pain and Discomfort of Back Pain and Sciatica

According to the clever Chinese doctors of ancient times, back pain is caused by factors in the environment, lifestyle and from the internal weaknesses of the human body.

The environment was always viewed as a potential cause of pain & disease in the human body. Today we prefer to see ourselves as more separate from nature, living above & beyond its effects. However, if you walk around on a wet, cold & windy day without proper covering you are more prone to experiencing back pain in the future. The Chinese believe that windy, cold & damp weather can act as pathogens which enter the body and cause pain.

Also, it is believed that the food we eat if too 'damp' in energy can cause back pain by introducing too much fluid and fat tissue into the body which can then settle in areas which block the free flow of blood & energy. Stagnating blood & energy are believed to be the local cause of all pain in the body.

They also believed that the emotions can cause back pain, because extreme emotions can hamper the free flow of energy & blood around the body, potentially causing pain.

A congenital weakness of the back or old age can also be a cause of back pain. With this kind of pain tiredness is often a problem. In this case it is important to strengthen the back as well as relieve pain, otherwise the pain may reappear repeatedly.

Back pain is treated by inserting fine needles into points situated along meridians on either side of the back. Those points which are tender are most likely to be needled. The points used on the back mostly correlate with the sympathetic nervous system ganglions.

Point on the feet & legs are also used as a way of freeing up the circuit of energy & blood within the meridian. This meridian travels around the body from the eye to the little toe, travelling down the side of the back on the way.

Therapies such as Chiropractic, Osteopathy and Physiotherapy are popular treatments for back pain. Acupuncture is less well known as a treatment, however it has a unique ability to reach nerves lying deep within the muscles of the body.

There can be no better way of influencing and pacifying pain in the lower back & sciatic pain in the legs, than by the insertion of metal needles which have a direct influence on the electro magnetic nerve pathways in the body

Vivienne Outram BScEcon, MBAcC, MATCM.

http://www.hallamacupuncture.co.uk