The Treatment of Back Pain
When it comes to managing pain, Chinese medicine possesses many unique characteristics and modalities to provide quick results.
At Tao to Wellness, we work with many patients who are in pain. The most common areas would certainly be the neck and the entire back. In Chinese medicine, it doesn’t matter where the pain is located, we can treat it by trusting the meridian system and Chinese philosophies and theories. We always start with acupuncture and depending on the particular situation, we may or may not incorporate Chinese herbal medicine, cupping, moxibustion or herbal patches. We are committed and in active collaboration with you to achieve results quickly and gently.
How does it work?
In Chinese medicine, the sign of pain is merely a blockage or stagnation in an area of a meridian; picture a traffic jam on a freeway or highway. When a strain, sprain, injury, repetitive stress issue or any number of things occurs there is a blockage of Qi (Energy) and Blood. These two vital substances, which are necessary for circulation, cannot nourish the area so inflammation, weakness or pain will be experienced, it’s the body’s way of sending a signal to the brain asking for help.
Acupuncture is the perfect treatment because it easily opens the blockage, allowing the smooth flow of Qi and Blood to heal the area and when the area is addressed, pain disappears.
How many treatments do I need?
This is dependent on the following:
- Length of time the pain has been an issue
- Severity of the pain
- Consistency of the pain
- Overall health lifestyle
80% of patient’s have relief after the very first treatment; from there it’s a matter of how long the patient ‘holds or sustains’ the treatment. Change is easy, sustaining it is more challenging. We are creatures of habit and so are our bodies, all of the factors above dictate how long it takes to unwind the pattern. Chinese medicine acts as an interruption of that pattern, consistently willing the body to return to balance and an optimal state.
We have a saying in the office, “When the pain comes back, you come back!” We listen and allow the body to dictate the treatment plan. So essentially time in between treatments could be a day or a week. This depends on how deep the pattern is but also takes into account the patient’s lifestyle, this will certainly feed the healing process or take away from it.
Pain can be debilitating, Chinese medicine provides an outlet to regain quality of life without surgery or medications.
Research studies
Research confirms that using acupuncture for low back pain is extremely effective. At Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Oakland, California, a research study was performed to test the efficacy of acupuncture for low back pain. 640 subjects ranging from ages 17-80 with low back pain for more than 3 months participated in the study. Exclusions to the study were: already having previous acupuncture or any blood clotting issues. Ten treatments were administered over seven weeks total with follow up phone call interviews at the 8, 26 and 52 weeks after the last acupuncture treatment. The study is complete and did, in fact, conclude that acupuncture was a valid form of treatment for low back pain.
An even larger study was done in Germany with 1,162 patients. This was the largest investigation of acupuncture for the treatment of low back pain vs. conventional non surgical treatments. Modalities tested were acupuncture, prescription medication, exercise and physical therapy. Researcher, Heinz Endres said, “Acupuncture represents a highly promising and effective treatment option for chronic back pain. Patients experienced not only reduced pain intensity, but also reported improvements in the disability that often results from back pain and therefore quality of life”. For this study, acupuncture was administered in ten, 30 minute sessions conducted over six weeks. The results were astounding and although it is still considered an alternative treatment in the US, based on the findings of this study acupuncture is now covered by the country’s health insurance in Germany. Dr. Endres, a research scientist, says that acupuncture is clearly useful for treatment for low back pain, “Just because we cannot explain exactly the mechanism by which a treatment works, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work”.
