Acupuncture for Low Back Pain

Low back pain is one of the most common reasons individuals see their doctors. It is also one of the most typical conditions that cause people to miss work and other activities. There are many causes for low back pain. The more common causes include diseases, structural deformities and trauma (injuries and strains). Diseases that can result in back pain include osteoporosis and ankylosing spondylosis. Low back pain can be due to structural problems such as vertebral deformities, stenosis and herniated discs that besides pain can develop into serious chronic problems.

Low Back Pain Signs and Symptoms

There are several signs and symptoms of low back pain. Pain can be felt in the back’s lumbar area. The pain can be felt as some type of muscular pain and localized.  Pain can also be felt radiating down the legs which is the case for sciatic pain. Patients with low back pain can complain about different sensations of pain including numbness, spasmodic pain, throbbing pain, dull pain and stabbing pain sometimes the back pain that will travel to the toes causing them to become numb. There are serious types of back pain that can debilitate a person making it difficult for that person to walk. There are back pains such as arthritis that are heavily influenced by changes in the weather.

Treatment Choices

For low back pain, a lot of treatment choices are available to remedy your condition. The most commonly availed of treatments are medicines, particularly, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs. Serious cases of back pain wherein the vertebrae have been damaged may necessitate surgery. One other treatment option that traditional medicine calls alternative medicine but one that has proven to be very effective in the resolution of low back pain is Chinese medicine and acupuncture.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine

Chinese medicine as a whole contains a string of natural modalities that includes acupuncture. Acupuncture and some of the other modalities are extremely effective in treating low back pain. The view of Chinese medicine towards low back pain and other health conditions is entirely different than that of the perspective of Western medicine. Chinese medicine is grounded on the belief that life energy exists in a person’s body. This life energy travels all throughout the body like blood and is conveyed on energy pathways called meridians. This life energy is known in Chinese as Qi or Chi. When Chi flow stagnates or is blocked in the meridians, an energy imbalance occurs and the body experiences disease, pain or illness. In the case of low back pain, the person may be experiencing blood and Chi stagnation causing energy and blood deficiency as well as imbalances or external pathogens such as cold and wind in the body that can all lead to pain. The meridians are associated with certain major organs in the body. In the case of low back pain the Kidney meridian is affected.  Acupuncture helps restore balance in the body. It also removes the blockage causing life energy to flow freely once more and allows the body to heal itself.

For acute low back pain cases, acupuncture can readily treat it with just a few sessions of treatment. For chronic back pain, the treatment may take longer and patients may have to come back occasionally for preventative and maintenance treatments.  Acupuncture is vey effective in treating different back pain conditions including arthritis, stenosis, herniated discs and sciatica. If you desire a back pain treatment that is safe, effective and do not have side effects, then acupuncture is certainly a treatment you need to try.