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

Acupuncture and Back Pain

Research carried out in 2002 indicated that almost 80% of the world's population would suffer from some kind of back pain with lower back pain being the most common type. In addition to the high rate of incidence, back pain is also known to have a high rate of recurrence in patients. With patients trying everything from over the counter painkillers to physiotherapy to gain relief from back pain, Acupuncture comes as a welcome change.

Acupuncture is a natural method of treatment that involves no chemicals or surgery. Thin stainless steel needles are inserted into the body at various acupuncture points to stimulate the free flow of Chi or life force through the body. Free flowing Chi results in a healthy and pain free body. Large bodies of research have been able to establish a connection between acupuncture and relief from back pain-especially sciatica.

Sciatica refers to a type of back pain in which the pain radiates from the buttocks down the legs. Sometimes, sciatica pain can also be a consequence of a muscle spasm impinging on the sciatica nerve. Acupuncture can be effectively used to alleviate muscle spasms. The results are almost immediate and can provide relief within minutes.

Back pain is generally caused because muscles that are not frequently exercised and stretched are suddenly put to excessive use. Muscle spasms are common in such cases and result in the individual feeling sore, stiff and a dull ache in the back. Patients suffering from sciatica may even feel a tingling sensation or numbness. This is generally due to the narrowing of the disc space or a disc protrusion in the lumbar region.

Acupuncture is used to improve blood circulation to the entire lumbar region and spinal cord. It relaxes paraspinal muscles and provides relief from muscle spasms. The increased blood flow provides greater nourishment to the discs and increases the elasticity and strengthens the spinal cord. Thus, acupuncture can be extremely effective in reducing back pain symptoms. It is important to remember that different patients respond differently to acupuncture sessions and it can take anywhere between 4-12 sessions to really feel the difference.

Betty Durden is a staff writer for The National Acupuncture Specialists located at http://www.acupuncture-treatment-specialists.com.

Acupuncture For Relief of Lower Back Pain and Sciatica - An Ancient Eastern Treatment

Despite the fact that acupuncture may not always provide long term relief, it is accepted that it may often be a source of relief from the immediate symptoms of back pain and sciatica. Really acupuncture should be viewed as being a method of alleviating pain and not thought to be a cure. However it should be remembered that pain relief even without a cure is valuable. It is essential for those who are experiencing serious discomfort or worse, and pain relief in itself may create a helpful climate for a cure by other means.

Acupuncture is now well known and accepted in the west although it is regarded generally as a Chinese therapy. It has been practised by the Chinese for several millennia and has enjoyed considerable success although it has not been claimed by them to be an absolute cure. The fundamentals of the therapy are simple. Sterile thin needles are inserted into the body at strategic places and the practitioner then moves them so as to create the necessary stimulus.

The acupuncture positions are not easy to locate, but are important and so require experience on the part of the therapist. Traditional Chinese medicine relate the acupuncture points to theories of yin and yang upon which the effectiveness of the treatment is explained. However it is most likely that the needles when inserted into the skin help to relieve pain by stimulating the bodies own pain relief mechanisms.

It is generally accepted that in the context of back and sciatica, acupuncture does not amount to a cure. Also it does not always work and there are those for whom it is ineffective. But there are very good grounds for believing that it will probably be a means of giving relief for back related problems. Another point to be considered is that the pain relief is normally longer lasting than typical pain relieving drugs available on prescription. Prescription drugs for pain relief will usually have to be taken again within a few hours. Acupuncture has been shown to have a much better effect and this is a great advantage apart, from the fact also that there is no risk of addiction with acupuncture.

Assuming the acupuncture to work for the particular patient, there is then a realistic chance that the easing of pain achieved will in itself lead to better mobility and this will then encourage a cure naturally. It should be added though, that if the acupuncture treatment does not bring about an indirect improvement as described, then probably future treatments by the therapist will be necessary, perhaps as frequently in some cases as every week. This may prove too costly for some.

Safety and hygiene is an essential for the proper use of acupuncture. The needles should always be sterile and are specifically used only once. If undergoing treatment you should expect that the needles will be in sterile unopened packaging before the therapist starts. You will see that the needles are very thin and for this reason you are unlikely to have any sensation of pain as they are inserted into your skin.

In the past the question has been asked as to whether acupuncture does indeed have the pain relief effect that is claimed. Are the claims for the treatment based on an nothing more than the placebo effect? Inevitably where there is incomplete understanding as to how a treatment may achieve its results doubts may be raised about it. It will be reassuring to know that clinical tests have been able to confirm that acupuncture is a genuine means of pain relief for those suffering from back and sciatica pain. And in comparison with the placebo effect, acupuncture has a much higher success rate.

The difficulty with acupuncture remains that as explained it does not amount to a cure. It may help bring about a cure but not always and repeat visits to the therapist may be required. In terms of pain relief then, acupuncture is well worth trying and it may lead to something better. However anyone suffering from back related problems, for example matters such as a slipped disc, which clearly are not going to be put right just by acupuncture, will wish also to address the underlying problem and to see what can be done to correct the malfunction that has brought it about.

Finally do bear in mind that acupuncture should only be given by those who are fully qualified. This is not something to try at home! And nor should acupuncture be tried by anyone who has a problem with bleeding or a blood disorder. Always consult your medical practitioner before undertaking acupuncture.

For more information about lower back and pain sciatica please visit lower-back-sprain

Please bear in mind that this article is for general information purposes only and is not medical advice about your health. If you have a medical condition or problem you should always consult your doctor as to the matter which may be more serious than you realise.

P.H. Stokesay writes on a number of topics including back pain and sciatica, magnetic therapy and how to learn foreign languages. For more information about lower back pain and sciatica please visit lower-back-sprain

How Does Acupuncture Assist in the Relief of Lower Back Pain and Spasms?

Every day people ask me about Acupuncture for relief of their lower back pain and back injury. For many people, the thought (let alone the action) of an acupuncture needle into your body would only increase pain. However, acupuncture is a very safe and effective method of pain relief, for acute and chronic conditions. I have found it particularly advantageous in the treatment and management of back aches, back spasms and back pain after a lower back injury.

Firstly, what is Acupuncture? Acupuncture is just one part of traditional Chinese Medicine. Whilst acupuncture is thought of in the Western World as simply a needling process, acupuncture has many forms in traditional Chinese Medicine. Yin and Yang breathing techniques and herbal medicines are also parts of the process of Chinese Medicine.

Acupuncture has been around for 4500 - 5000 years now, and the Chinese were using Acupuncture for many things - not just pain relief - before steel was discovered. This means two main things for us - they were using 'Acupuncture' techniques for pain relief before the needle was invented (Thin bamboo shoots were used), and acupuncture was being used before scalpels were invented. This means that the Chinese were using Acupuncture and needling techniques on each other successfully before they knew what was underneath the 'needle' they were placing in the body.

Traditional Acupuncture is based upon the belief of 'Meridian Points' in our body. Acupuncturists believed that these meridian points were energy channels that related to different vessels in our body - the Liver, Large Intestine, Heart etc. These energy channels run all through our body. The traditional belief in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture for pain relief, is that by tapping into these energy channels through the use of a 'needle', anything from acute to chronic pain, back aches, buttock pain and back spasms caused by these areas can be relieved. Because of this, the needle is often not placed anywhere near the actual point of pain.

In the case of lower back pain and back injury, traditional acupuncture has been shown to be effective in providing pain relief for both acute and chronic pain, back aches and back spasms. Acupuncture for lower back pain can assist in decreasing back spasm and chronic pain, along with assisting in decreasing the long term changes in the brain's pain processing.

Over recent years, Acupuncture has become more accepted in Western culture for its use in pain relief for anything from headaches to back pain to pregnancy. With greater research into the actual process of needling and how it works, a westernised form of Acupuncture known as Dry Needling has become more widely used and accepted. A westernised form of Acupuncture, Dry Needling works to relieve muscle spasm, giving almost instantaneous relief from back aches, back spasms and buttock pains caused by muscle spasm after back injury.

Muscle Spasm: Following back injury, the muscles of the back will spasm to protect the injury site, causing many people to suffer from back ache and back spasms. Many of the muscles around the pelvis will spasm after a back injury, leading to buttock pain particularly, along with back aches and lower back pain that will not show up on an x-ray or MRI.

When muscle spasm increases, it can lead to trigger points developing in the muscles. These trigger points are the main causes of back pain, buttock pain and back spasm, along with a major cause of back aches. The technique of dry needling is effective in ridding the body of these trigger points and leading to pain relief from lower back pain, back aches and back spasms.

After a back injury, a major cause of back pain is often the muscle spasm and trigger points, as the underlying problem can often heal itself. This is why for many people, their MRI or x-ray will show nothing, and their Doctor will not believe the cause of their back pain.

Dry Needling is used to safely and effectively break up these trigger points through rapid and fast needling of the area. Unlike Acupuncture, Dry Needling is only done for 5 - 10 seconds, where as Acupuncture Needles are often left in for 15 - 20 minutes. I have found this technique very effective in removing back aches, lower back pain, back spasms, buttock pains and spine pain. By removing the trigger point as the major cause for back pain after back injury, pain relief can be felt almost immediately.

For more information on lower back pain sign up for our email course available at http://www.betterhealtheducation.com
Andrew Logan developed Better Health Education in order to provide easy to use and practical health advice for people all around the world. He has a particular interest in helping to decrease the suffering of chroninc lower back pain.