Back pain in the most commonly treated condition in most acupuncture clinics and for good reason. Not only does more than 50% of the population suffer from some degree of back pain, but acupuncture is extremely effective at resolving pain, with no side effects of course.
A study published in January 2017 identifies conditions with strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture. Back pain, whether it be acute pain (it just started today) or chronic pain (it’s been around for months or even years) is one of the conditions that is very successfully treated with acupuncture – it’s a no brainer.
So, what do you do between now and your acupuncture appointment to manage the pain you are experiencing? Let’s give you some self-care recommendations.
If the pain is acute (it just happened): You can try laying down on the floor with your feet slightly elevated on a pillow. Alternate between applying heat and then ice. For example, 15 minutes with a heating pad and then 15 minutes with an ice pack. There are some over the counter pain patches that might be helpful.
If the pain is chronic: try a self-massager (we have a shiatzu massager from Costco that we both use at home), do some basic stretching, nothing that hurts, here is an example of a stretching routine from Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO3racIlTcg.
We are often asked; how long will it take for me to be better with acupuncture? For acute pain, resolution is typically quick. We may see you 1-3 times in a week and the pain should be gone or greatly diminished. For chronic pain, resolution is often longer. We will recommend an initial 4 treatment plan. From there we will asses your progress and come up with a treatment plan that will lead you being pain free!
Whatever the cause of your back pain, once we see you we will make some individual self-care and/or life style recommendations to help the pain go away faster, and to keep it away. We will also refer for additional care from a massage therapist, chiropractor, or orthopedic specialist if we think it is necessary.
Ann & Emily
