Alternative treatment for back and neck pain with acupuncture

by Mohit J. White Hat Link Building Services

Acupuncture originates from ancient China but has become a modern alternative healing option that many people employ around the globe. As well as many other issues and ailments a common use is for the relief of pain, such as back pain and neck pain. Treatment involves an expert trained in the method of inserting very fine needles into specific points of the body called meridians, to manipulate and stimulate the energy flow. For some, it seems to be a scary thing, the idea of letting someone put needles into you. And it doesn’t help with the movie and tv scenes out there, but it is actually painless and can help ease the pain for a lot of people.

Varying back pain treatments

How a practitioner chooses to carry out pain relief methods depends on the acupuncturist, their training and experience. For example, back pain does not mean the needles only go into the back area, there may be some positioning elsewhere to affect the energy flow like the feet! There are a lot of different back issues that this alternative treatment can help with. Three common back issues that patients look for help with include;

Back sprains - These can happen for a number of reasons but is essentially when a movement over stretches the back ligaments leading to a torn muscle and strain. It can be just a daily strain from lifting something wrong, or from bad posture, or turning wrong and so on. Using a few sessions of acupuncture with a professional practitioner, you can ease the pain from the sprain as it recovers.
A herniated disc - Herniated discs are quite a common back issue that leads to a lot of pain. The spine is made up of vertebrae, small bones, that are cushioned by discs. The discs are like shock absorbers. A ruptured, slipped or bulged disc can happen for a number of reasons and it then presses against the spinal nerves. The back or neck pain for some patients can be quite severe and acupuncture can help with this.
Sciatica - Another common type of back pain is as a result of sciatica. The sciatica nerve is one that starts in the buttocks and then runs down through the leg. When something happens to irritate or injure the nerve it can trigger it to spasm and the resulting pain travels from the lower back through the buttock and down. It can impact your daily life and can be quite uncomfortable. Acupuncture is a way to manage the pain and boost the movement you can manage.

Summary

If you decide to try acupuncture as an alternative treatment option for a back problem, it is important to have it assessed by your doctor if it is more than a simple back strain. It is safe to also see your acupuncturist at the same time. But in the case of something like an accident where real damage might have happened it needs checking out medically first.