Studies conducted in 2002 revealed that almost four out of five people throughout the world are struggling with back pain of one sort or another at any one time, in particular, lower back pain. What is more, most of these people will experience a re-occurrence of their back pain at some point in the future. The usual cause of back pain is the sudden excessive use of back muscles that are rarely exercised or stretched. As patients continue to try every type of over the counter painkillers to gain some temporary relief from back pain, acupuncture therapy comes as a welcome change from oral medication. A growing body of research has been able to establish a connection between acupuncture and relief from back pain – especially sciatica. With sciatica, the pain radiates down the back of the legs from the buttocks or may be caused by muscles spasms which impinge on the sciatic nerve. Acupuncture can almost instantaneously relieve these types of muscle spasms and provide relief from sciatica within just a few minutes. It is thought that acupuncture works by improving the circulation of blood throughout the whole lumber and spinal cord region of the back. Besides relieving muscle spasms, acupuncture also appears to have a relaxing effect on the para-spinal muscles. As the blood flow in the lumbar regions increases, more nourishment is brought to the spinal discs which helps to strengthen the spinal cord and increase general elasticity in the entire back area.Through this mechanism, acupuncture can be a very successful therapy for reducing back pain and muscle spasms. However, the root causes of everyone’s back pain are different which is why some patients respond more quickly to acupuncture for relief from back pain than others. We always advise that it is best to anticipate 4-12 acupuncture sessions before you can expect to notice a significant difference.

Acupuncture as an effective remedy for Arthritis

Arthritis is a rheumatoid disease in which patients characteristically present with stiffness, swollen joints and chronic pain.In Asia, acupuncture has long been the therapy of choice to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis and other chronic pain sufferers, and in the west it is rapidly becoming the most popular natural remedy both as an alternative to, and to supplement oral pain medication. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that pain results from a blockage in the flow of our vital life energy (qi).

The therapeutic philosophy is that the insertion of acupuncture needles at specific meridians or energy points on the surface of the body will help to clear the blockages and permit qi to flow smoothly again, thereby restoring balance and well being to the body, and at the same time relieving chronic pain. During acupuncture therapy, your practitioner will insert very fine metal needles into precise ‘acu-points’ in the skin which vary depending on where you experience most arthritic pain. Your practitioner may also prescribe Chinese herbal and other natural medicines and may recommend making nutritional changes to your diet to further assist in relieving your chronic pain in the long term.