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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used for thousands of years and it includes different modalities of healing including, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Cupping, Chinese Medicinal Massage (Tui Na), Exercises (including Tai Chi and Qi Gong), and Chinese Nutrition. The basis of TCM is the concept of qi, the body’s vital energy.
TCM treatments promote the movement of qi throughout the body to help bring balance back to the body. The goal of acupuncture is to correct this imbalance which can cause a variety of ailments and conditions that you may currently have.
Acupuncture uses very thin needles (which have been compared to being as small as cat whiskers) that stimulate pressure points and other areas of your body. It stimulates qi by placing needles in specific spots, often along meridians. Meridians are the channels that Qi travels in the body.
Acupuncture can help with many health conditions, including:
Below are the top five ways that acupuncture can help:
Acupuncture is an ancient treatment modality that is backed by thousands of years of documented success. Unfortunately, it is often used as a treatment of last resort. This is because our education is grounded in western science, which has no clear explanation for why or how acupuncture works. It is unfortunate because, in comparison to surgery and prescription painkillers, acupuncture is virtually painless, side-effect free, and imposes zero additional recovery time on the patient after each treatment session is completed.
When people do eventually come to acupuncture, they find it to be as, or more effective than other treatments they have tried so far. This is especially true for the treatment of chronic pain, inflammatory disorders, addiction, and more.
Acupuncture in Pain Management
This modality of treatment really shines is in managing pain. Acupuncture alters the way the nervous system functions, by allowing it to send fewer unnecessary pain signals to the brain. It does this by tapping into the ability of the brain and the nervous system as a whole to manage pain in healthy ways.
Consider the way a small child reacts to pain compared to an adult. When children get a bump or scrape, they often cry bitterly as if they have been badly wounded. An adult’s pain response will tend to be less pronounced. This is because an adult will know on an experiential level and an intuitive level that superficial damage is not a threat to her or his existence.
In short, our nervous systems mature as we do. Therefore, it can be said- based on long experience with the practice- that acupuncture can help our nervous system to develop more refined responses to pain.
Common Types of Painful Illnesses That are Successfully Treated Using Acupuncture
You will find that the types of pain that acupuncture is the best at treating are the ones that are caused by a disproportionate response of the body to injury or illness. Inflammation, for example, is what happens when the body responds to a perceived threat. But that response can be harmful if it is not properly regulated.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Damage to the gut lining and irritants in the digestive system will trigger an immune response and causes obvious pain. Conditions like IBS result when the body cannot properly mount a well-regulated response. Acupuncture can reduce unhelpful levels of swelling in the gut.
Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Disorders
As with gastrointestinal disorders, allergies result when an irritant is ever-present, and the body, again, mounts a poorly regulated response. Acupuncture is well suited for this type of problem.
Immune Disorders
Sometimes, hyperactive immune responses are so strong that the body’s defense systems begin to attack the body itself. Immune disorders can be devastating and sometimes painful.
Musculoskeletal and Neurological Disorders
At some point in life, everyone experiences pain caused by a musculoskeletal and/or neurological disorder. These can be caused by poor posture, injury, illness, and age. Acupuncture can help the body to refrain from delivering manic pain signals while the patient strives to heal.
If you are suffering from any type of pain, act now and set up an appointment to start living a life free of pain!
Multiple studies have shown acupuncture can be very effective at managing pain. But a study performed by Albrecht et al is probably one of the most frequently referenced studies. The researchers studied the effects of acupuncture on 424 patients who suffered from chronic shoulder pain. The analysis of the results showed acupuncture as an effective treatment, the participants reported decreased pain and increased range of motion and that it was even superior to the results achieved using conservative orthopedic treatments. This, as well as many other studies, show hope for the future of acupuncture becoming mainstream medicine in the battle against pain.
THE PAIN METRIC
Pain. Who hasn’t dealt with it? It is so common in the United States that it affects more people than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. Pain is the most common reason people go to see their doctor and also why we are currently experiencing an unprecedented opioid epidemic. Chronic pain is the most common cause of long-term disability according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Approximately one in every four Americans suffers from pain that exceeds 24 hours. The type of pain and location of the pain will determine how it is treated when you go to see your doctor. And typically, the doctor will prescribe over the counter or prescription pain medications and they may also order more tests to determine if there is something more serious going on.
ACUPUNCTURE AND PAIN
This is where acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can work in conjunction with your primary care physician. Multiple studies have shown acupuncture can be quite effective at treating pain, both acute and chronic. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration is now urging doctors to obtain information about alternative treatment methods like acupuncture and chiropractic care. This came about in response to the opioid crisis occurring in the U.S. and killing thousands of people, including the rich and famous.
Since acupuncture has no real adverse side effects when performed by a qualified and professionally licensed practitioner, pain relief can begin the very first time a patient is treated.
Acupuncture treatments are very customizable because as a medicine, it’s not a “one size fits all” type of solution. This means that as the pain shifts and changes, the patient will receive customized treatments that not only address the pain and inflammation but also work on resolving the root of the problem. Most patients who are dealing with pain also have added stress, insomnia, and depression or anxiety. Acupuncture is great at treating all of these conditions. So, the patient gets more than just pain relief.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE
The stimulation of acupuncture points triggers the brain to release endorphins, which are painkilling chemicals that saturate the brain and decrease pain signals, both short-term and long-term. Acupuncture is so effective at treating and relieving pain it is now showing up in hospitals and emergency rooms. In fact, Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota is now successfully using acupuncture in its emergency room to treat conditions ranging from car accident injuries to kidney stones. Their initial results show that pain scores are just as low with acupuncture as they are with those given analgesic painkillers. With these kinds of recommendations, it is hard to believe only about 10 percent of Americans have ever tried acupuncture. But that statistic is slowly changing as more and more people are seeking natural and alternative methods of dealing with pain and disease.
If you suffer or someone you know suffers from pain of any kind, give us a call so we can give you the relief you’ve been seeking.
Acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is practiced in many different forms which include herbal remedies, cupping, and massage, which have all been used for thousands of years. The basis of TCM is the idea of qi, the body’s vital energy.
TCM treatments promote the movement of qi throughout the body in order to help bring balance back to the body. The goal of acupuncture is to correct this imbalance which can cause a variety of ailments and conditions that you may currently have.
Acupuncture uses very thin needles (which have been compared to being as small as cat whiskers) that stimulate pressure points and other areas of your body. It stimulates qi by placing needles in specific spots, often along meridians. Meridians are the channels that Qi travels in the body.
Acupuncture can help with many health conditions, including:
Below are the top five ways that acupuncture can help
1. Relieves Pain
Acupuncture can help alleviate many types of pain that may range from headaches and migraines to neck and back pain. These studies have shown its effectiveness in treating lower back pain, migraines, tension headaches, and knee pain. Acupuncture works differently for everybody. For some, a single treatment can alleviate symptoms for several months while others need a more routine treatment schedule.
2. Improved Sleep
Another thing that Acupuncture can help improve is sleep and insomnia. Scientists believe that acupuncture increases the production of brain chemicals that promote relaxation, thus allowing for better sleep.
3. Uplift Mood
Acupuncture can help with improving mood, including helping with depression, stress, and anxiety. The needles from acupuncture treatment release endorphins in the body. Endorphins are hormones that provide a boost in mood, encouraging happiness and relaxation.
4. Help the Heart
Acupuncture is also good for your heart due to the relaxation and stress reduction that one achieves from the treatments, which are also known to reduce blood pressure. Stress and high blood pressure are commonly related to heart attacks and heart disease.
5. Support the Immune System
Research has shown that acupuncture can boost immune system function. The placement of acupuncture needles can release immune-boosting cytokines. Cytokines are messenger cells that regulate the body’s immune response. By triggering the immune system, acupuncture can help fight infections or illnesses like colds and the flu.
While this is not an exhaustive list of how acupuncture can help, if you deal with any of the above symptoms or think that acupuncture may be right for you- schedule an appointment with us! We’d be happy to support you in achieving your health care goals!
Master Lu’s Health Center in Salt Lake City specializes in helping you to feel better and pain free utilizing acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine is a complete medical system to diagnose and treat disease. It has been used to treat many different health conditions for over 3,000 years. There are many different reasons why you may be interested to use Chinese medicine as part of your health care.
This is as short list that of some of the top reasons why you should try acupuncture.
I hope that these reasons help you to get a better understanding of Chinese medicine. Please give us a call at Master Lu’s Health Center to help you to achieve and improve better health and wellness.
Reference:
Have you been struggling with pain? Have you been to all of the doctors and you still have a lot of pain problems? Are you sick and tired of taking pain medications? We have a great and natural solution for you. Here at Master Lu’s Health Center in Salt Lake City, we specialize in pain management and pain condition utilizing acupuncture, Chinese herbs, exercise, and nutrition to help you feel better, more balanced, and pain free.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine has been shown to help with many different pain conditions both acute and chronic. Acupuncture is effective for low back pain, neck pain, knee pain, arthritis, tendonitis, and other musculoskeletal conditions. In fact the Acupuncture Now Foundation have come out with some white papers and research on how acupuncture can treat pain, also acupuncture’s role in fighting the opioid epidemic. You can check out the white papers and research here https://acunow.org/whitepaper/
Acupuncture will improve blood flow and circulation that will promote your body’s self healing mechanisms. It will also at on the brain and will release your body’s natural pain killers and chemicals such as endorphins, neurotransmitters, and hormones that will balance the body and promote your body’s self healing mechanisms.
Hope this helps you understand more about how acupuncture can help you with pain relief. If you have any questions feel free to contact Master Lu’s Health Center anytime.
Here is a short video on acupuncture and pain management.
