Back pain is one of the most common types of pain. Approximately 80% adults suffer from it. Because of it, they experience limitations in performing daily activities. As it turns out, acupuncture is a very effective way to combat it.
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is one of the oldest therapeutic methods. It helps with ailments such as migraine, muscular pains and diseases of the digestive tract. The method involves pricking the body with needles of a suitably selected set of acupuncture points, all over the patient's body.
Acupuncture, in Far Eastern medicine, is recognised as an extremely effective way of treating pain, including spinal pain. It affects the patient's central and autonomic nervous system. It is most commonly used for spinal, muscle and joint pain.
Acupuncture is a method recognised by academic medicine and recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Back pain and its causes
Back pain occurs in 70% people most commonly in the lumbosacral region, and often causes chronic or recurrent symptoms. It presents in various forms, ranging from acute with radiation to the legs and buttocks to chronic dull pain. It is caused primarily by muscle tension and sometimes originates in organs such as the kidneys, digestive system, etc.
The most common causes of back pain include:
- discopathy,
- muscle spasm,
- spinal stenosis.
- weak abdominal muscles.
- significant lumbar flexion causing pressure on the spinal nerve,
- lack of physical activity.
- sedentary lifestyle.
- overweight.
Discs usually occur as a result of years of pressure on the vertebrae and are most often located in the lower back or neck area.
Back pain - treatment
Treatment for back pain is mainly based on painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Sometimes doctors also administer cortisone injections or carry out surgery for this ailment.
One of the more effective treatments for back pain is acupuncture. This is because, when applied to the spine, it has a significant effect on relaxing the muscles and relieving pain. It is considered one of the safest and most effective treatment methods in natural medicine. For this very reason, it is also used in sports medicine.
A study conducted in Germany in 2007 showed that, in the case of pains in the lumbar spine, acupuncture is almost twice as effective as other types of therapy. The conclusions of this study were published in the prestigious medical journal Internal Archives of Medicine.
What does a back acupuncture treatment look like?
Prior to the acupuncture treatment, the practitioner interviews the patient to determine the type of symptoms and the reasons for them. After examination, he establishes a diagnosis and selects acupuncture points, which he then pricks.
Because acupuncture aims to restore the proper circulation of energy in the body and to remove any blockages in its flow, it is not always only the back that is pricked. Sometimes, punctures are also made in areas away from the spine, such as the hands and feet, calves, knees or shoulders.
What back pain do acupuncture treatments help?
In the treatment of back pain, acupuncture treatments benefit patients suffering from back pain and those experiencing back muscle pain or joint pain, as well as shoulder pain. It is recommended for, among others.
- sciatica,
- spondyloarthritis,
- osteoarthritis,
- all types of back injuries and post-traumatic pain,
- widespread back pain,
- radiculitis,
- lumbago.
Doctors do not recommend acupuncture for certain infectious diseases, severe exhaustion, skin diseases or fevers of unknown origin. It is also not usually used in children, up to the age of seven, and caution is needed when applying it to the elderly, over the age of 85.
