Pain Management

Acupuncture is widely used as an effective treatment for almost all kinds of pain such as headache, neck and shoulder pain, lower back pain, and sciatica. In fact, over 90% of our clients get pain relief after the first session.

 

About Pain

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. It is the most common reasons that patients seek treatment. Pain itself is not a disease, but rather a symptom and an indication of a problem somewhere in the body. Usually, the location of the pain within the body corresponds with the location of the problem it is indicating, for example, elbow pain caused by an inflamed tendon underneath; however, cases in which pain is experienced in a location away from the problem also exist, such as leg pain resulting from a prolapsed disc compressing a nerve in the back. In addition, the intensity of the pain usually provides an indication of the severity of the underlying problem.

 

There are different ways to classify the pain:

Duration

According to the duration of pain it can be divided into acute and chronic. Acute pain occurs after trauma or surgery, and when the tissue recovers after injury the pain should reduce, it can also develop to chronic pain. Chronic pain refers to the pain that lasts longer than normal recovery time of acute injury or disease, it can be simply defined as pain lasting longer than 6 months.

Region of the body involved

• Headaches and migraines

• Neck pain, shoulder pain and muscle tightness

• Chest pain and angina

• Tennis elbow, golfers elbow, frozen shoulder

• Lower back pain, upper back pain and tension

• Hip pain and stiffness, slipped disc and sciatica

• Knee pain

• Ankle pain and injuries

• Foot pain, heel pain and toe pain

 

Etiology

• Sports injuries

• Tear of tendon / tendonitis

• Strain and sprain

• Arthritis

• Rheumatism / Rheumatoid arthritis

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Cervical spondylosis

• Plantar faciitis

• Bunions

• Fibromyalgia

• Menstrual cramps

 

Neurophysiological mechanism

• Nociceptive pain: caused by stimulation of peripheral nerve fibers that respond only to stimuli approaching or exceeding harmful intensity (nociceptors), and may be classified according to the mode of noxious stimulation. The most common categories being “thermal” (eg. heat or cold), “mechanical” (eg. crushing, tearing, shearing, etc.) and “chemical” (eg. iodine in a cut, chili powder in the eyes).Nociceptive pain may also be divided into “visceral”, “deep somatic” and “superficial somatic” pain. Visceral structures are highly sensitive to stretch, ischemia and inflammation, but relatively insensitive to other stimuli that normally evoke pain in other structures, such as burning and cutting. Visceral pain is diffuse, difficult to locate and often referred to a distant, usually superficial, structure. It may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting and may be described as sickening, deep, squeezing, and dull. Deep somatic pain is initiated by stimulation of nociceptors in ligaments, tendons, bones, blood vessels, fasciae and muscles, and is dull, aching, poorly localized pain. Examples include sprains and broken bones. Superficial pain is initiated by activation of nociceptors in the skin or other superficial tissue, and is sharp, well-defined and clearly located. Examples of injuries that produce superficial somatic pain include minor wounds and minor (first degree) burns.

• Neuropathic pain: caused by damage or disease affecting any part of the nervous system involved in bodily feelings (the somatosensory system). Peripheral neuropathic pain is often described as “burning”, “tingling”, “electrical”, “stabbing”, or “pins and needles”. Bumping the “funny bone” elicits acute peripheral neuropathic pain.

• Psychogenic pain: also called psychalgia or somatoform pain, is pain caused, increased, or prolonged by mental, emotional, or behavioral factors. Headache, back pain, and stomach pain are sometimes diagnosed as psychogenic. Sufferers are often stigmatized, because both medical professionals and the general public tend to think that pain from a psychological source is not “real”. However, specialists consider that it is no less actual or hurtful than pain from any other source. People with long term pain frequently display psychological disturbance, and clinical evidence shows chronic pain can cause neuroticism. When long term pain is relieved by therapeutic intervention, scores on the neurotic triad and anxiety fall, often to normal levels. Self-esteem, often low in chronic pain patients, also shows improvement once pain has resolved.

 

Pain management with Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

In Chinese medicine (TCM), pain is explained as the stagnation of the flow of Qi (Chee) along invisible channels, known as meridians, along the body. Normally, there is abundant supply of Qi, or life energy, flows along the meridians; however, pathogens may cause this flow to become stagnated, resulting in illness and pain. Acupuncture works through the insertion of needles along specific points along these meridians, to re-establish the normal flow of Qi, and thus alleviate the pain associated with the stagnation.

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TCM treatment, which encompasses acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, takes a holistic approach to treat the cause rather than the symptom of pain, by improving the overall wellbeing of the body, and encouraging it to promote its own natural healing. Acupuncture works to alleviate pain by stimulating the body to produce natural steroids, which decrease inflammation, and release endorphins, a natural pain inhibiter produced by the body.

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Acupuncture is widely recognised across both eastern and western medicine practices as an effective treatment for pain. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine offers highly effective pain relief, without any of the nasty side effects brought about by chemical treatments. In addition to being safe and free of side effects, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, has the following benefits:

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• Stimulates the body to heal naturally

• Increases circulation to the local area

• Reduces inflammation and swelling quickly

• Relaxes the body’s muscles and stops spasms

• Maintains positive results for longer

• Prevents re-occurrences

• Promotes both physical and psychological wellbeing

• Can be used in conjunction with other treatments (eg. western medicine)