Acupuncture for Back Pain

What are some reasons people come in to do acupuncture for back pain? Some of the most important reasons are arthritis, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease, spondylolythesis, spinal fracture, spinal stenosis or scoliosis. Also, back spasms  and pinched sciatic nerves. The number one reason people come for back pain is for sciatica.  

Symptoms of sciatica include pain in the lower back which also radiates as numbness down the leg.  Often times, these symptoms are created by poor posture or tightness of muscles. Which then creates trigger points, which impede the meridians' flow of qi. Sciatica feels like a sharp, burning, aching pain. People may experience one or more of these sensations.

When coming in to see me for lower back pain, some of the first things I will do is take your blood pressure and Chinese pulses. I then ask you about where back pain is, how long you've had it and what makes it feel better or worse, such as sitting, standing, lying down.

At this point, I will escort you into a treatment room, ask you to pick your favorite position to make sure you are as pain free as possible.  At that point, we start the needle treatment which lasts 45-60 minutes.  The treatment could also include cupping and massage. At the conclusion of your treatment, I will ask you what your pain level is, whether it's better, worse or the same.  

At this point, we then create a protocol and a plan to get your back pain under control. I had a patient recently who was experiencing scoliosis as well as a bulging disc and numbness into the gluteus. This patient had frequented the chiropractor for two years. The MRI and xray finding revealed that she had a bulging disc. There was never any mention that this patient had scoliosis that was causing the bulging disc.

After only one treatment, the  pain was gone.  

I treated the scoliosis which was pulling on the bulging disc which is what was causing the numbness pain in her buttocks.

With scoliosis patients, it is in her best interest to do maintenance.  Scoliosis does not go away. But acupuncture is great for reducing the inflammation in the muscle that overloads that pulls on the spine which causes pain. 

Therefore, there is no way to completely remove pain associated with scoliosis but if you maintain treatment of massage and/or acupuncture as needed, you will have a better quality of life with your scoliosis.

In the Western world, they prefer to put rods in the back to straighten the spine. Acupuncture offers a much less evasive protocol.

Acupuncture in these cases increase the flow of blood and oxygen and allow the meridians to open up and let the qi flow, therefore, you have less inflammation and pain in the body.

If you are experiencing any of these signs or symptoms or have been diagnosed with any of the conditions above, I would love to help you get to the other side of pain so you can live pain free.

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