Acupuncture for Pain Relief
Painful musculoskeletal disorders are often encountered in practice. The painful conditions that I frequently come across in my clinic are lower back pain, sciatica, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain, knee pain and osteoarthritis.
Acupuncture stimulates the nervous system and causes the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. This results in the body producing pain relieving substances, such as endorphins, which in turn, promote physical and emotional wellbeing.
Acupuncture for Back Pain
By far and large back pain is the most common. This condition affects more than 1.1 million people in the UK, with 95% of patients suffering from problems affecting the lower back.
Acupuncture can help back pain by:
providing pain relief - by stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, acupuncture leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord.
reducing inflammation - by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors.
improving muscle stiffness and joint mobility - by increasing local microcirculation, which aids dispersal of swelling and bruising.
reducing the use of medication for back complaints.
improving the outcome when added to conventional treatments such as rehabilitation exercises.
