Although acupuncture did not originate in western countries, it has established an impressive market in them. These days, the United States alone has a market for the services of acupuncturists worth more than $600 million every year. More than 17,000 people around the country work to provide acupuncture services.
With numbers like that, it is clear that many people find that acupuncture works for them. But what exactly is acupuncture, and what can it do for chronic lower back pain? Learning more about acupuncture may be the first step toward relieving your stubborn back pain.
Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about acupuncture and the way it can treat back pain!
What Is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is an ancient practice derived from traditional Chinese medicine. During an acupuncture treatment, tiny needles are inserted through strategic points in the body.
According to the ideas of traditional Chinese medicine, inserting these tiny needles at the right points around the body can help balance the flow of energy in the body. Although not all modern practitioners use this model of what is going on, many of them have seen for themselves how effective acupuncture can be.
Some people theorize that placing needles at the right points in the body can help to stimulate nerves and muscles. Could the efficacy of acupuncture have something to do with this? Others theorize that the tiny amounts of damage done to the body during an acupuncture treatment help the body to release a flood of its own natural painkillers.
In principle, acupuncture can be used to treat almost any condition.
Some people use it for general stress management while others use it for even serious medical conditions. As effective as acupuncture can be, it may work better for some conditions than others. One of the most established ways to use acupuncture is to help relieve pain in the body.
Treating Back Pain With Acupuncture
If you are experiencing chronic pain in your back, then acupuncture may be especially suited to help you find relief. Lower back pain is often the result of chronically poor posture.
These days, more people spend many hours each day sitting. On top of that, people end up sitting in the exact same way over and over again. It should come as no surprise that the posture of their body starts to adjust to fit into this position that it adopts so often.
However, as people’s bodies adopt more and more extreme versions of these postures, they start to develop imbalances around the body. The tighter certain muscles get, the more they shorten certain lengths of your body. As those lengths get pulled together, they pull on other parts of the body, creating tightness in many places.
Acupuncture may help stimulate the connective tissues, nerves, and muscles in your body to work together to return to a more natural posture. That may make it easier for your body to get out of a rut so that you can stop experiencing lower back pain. Acupuncture may also help your body to release the endorphins it needs to keep you feeling free of stress and discomfort.
Different Types of Acupuncture
Keep in mind that there are many different kinds of acupuncture for you to choose between. When it comes to lower back pain, traditional Chinese acupuncture may be an effective solution. On the other hand, you might also want to try out other approaches like Japanese acupuncture.
The traditional Chinese approach focuses on healing a specific condition, like your lower back pain. The Japanese version of acupuncture is used on the whole body at the same time.
Most other kinds of acupuncture focus on specific parts of the body like the hand, the scalp, or the ear. These options may be less applicable to your lower back pain problem. However, some people swear that even these targeted forms of acupuncture provide them with benefits all around the body.
But how could using acupuncture on the ear have effects on the lower back or the rest of the body? Of course, the most important thing is whether the treatment provides results for you. However, if you are deciding which acupuncture option to start with, the traditional Chinese approach might make the most sense for your lower back pain.
Finding the Right Acupuncture Provider
Considering how popular acupuncture is, there are many providers you can choose between. However, the efficacy of your treatment will have a lot to do with the skill of your provider. How can you make sure that you find one of the most skilled providers in your area?
Looking at ratings for different acupuncture providers online can be a great way to identify some candidates for your acupuncture treatment provider. You might also find it helpful to read several written reviews about those candidates to help you decide which of them is the best option for your specific situation.
If you know anyone who has received acupuncture treatment, they might also be able to provide you with helpful advice.
Understand How Acupuncture Can Help With Back Pain
Many people struggle with back pain for many years while they try a long list of different kinds of treatment. Learning more about acupuncture can help you decide if this may be the right option to help decrease your chronic pain. If acupuncture works for you, then you can enjoy an improved quality of life for years to come.
To learn more about how you can use acupuncture to treat back pain, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!
