Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine  for Pain Helps Avoid the Use of Addictive Pharmaceuticals

Pain results from the stimulation of specialized nerve endings and serves as a protective mechanism for the body.  However, pain can cause a lot of suffering, that in some cases becomes chronic – in these cases pain must be treated so sufferers can resume a normal lifestyle.  The goal of acupuncture pain management is to decrease the intensity of the pain, and gently increase the patient’s physical activity in a specialized way to guide the body to it’s own ability to heal.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), fundamental cause of pain is qi stagnation (blockage), blood stagnation or both.  It is often said where there is pain there is stagnation — the use of acupuncture and herbs that activate qi and blood and move the stagnation helps to resolve pain.  Channels of energy, called meridians, run through the body and over it’s surface.  These meridians are like rivers flowing through our bodies to irrigate and nourish the tissues.  An obstruction in the movement of these energy channels is like a dam that backs up — the acupuncture needles help unblock the obstructions and reestablish healthy flow through the meridians, thereby relieving pain and promoting the healing process. The modern scientific explanation is that needling the acupuncture points along these channels stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord and brain.  These chemicals will either reduce the experience of pain, or trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones which influence the body’s own internal regulating system.  The improved energy and biochemical balance produced by acupuncture results in stimulating the body’s natural healing abilities, and in promoting physical and emotional well-being.

Acupuncture is a well-documented and useful method of easing pain without the use of addictive pharmaceuticals which are typically just a bandaid.  Acupuncture works with a whole-body approach to the energy pathways that conduct information from our sensory organs to our nervous system.  When energy “flows” there is less pain, better communication, and improved well-being.  Slender filaments placed gently at 5-25 locations on the body per treatment can improve energy flow quite impressively.  Acupuncture takes your body into a deep state of relaxation, the needles do not hurt, most patients feel only minimal stimulation as the needles are inserted, some feel nothing at all. 

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