Acupuncture for Back Pain

Many people who suffer from back pain feel uncomfortable and constantly tired, which is one of the reasons people seek medical treatment. This is also the top-reported reason citing acupuncture as an effective method for managing pain.

Common Causes of Back Pain

There are different areas of back pain— upper back pain, lower back pain, neck pain, and several other diseases, disorders, and illnesses can cause it.

Structural issues are where a condition affects the spinal column or any part.

Sprains and strains are the most commonly susceptible because of their weight-bearing function and connection in movements, such as twisting and bending. Inflammation is expected in the injury site, usually accompanied by pain with movement. Muscle cramping or spasms can occur, as well as decreased function and range of motion.

Movement and posture problems such as text neck could cause one or more structure problems, muscle strains, or other back-pain-causing conditions.

Pregnancy is great susceptibility to back pain because of weight gain, a shift in the center of gravity, hormonal changes, and increased stress. Between 50% and 80% of pregnant women experience back pain.

How does Acupuncture work in Back Pain?

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), the modern scientific explanation is that needling acupuncture points stimulate the nervous system to release chemicals in the spinal cord, muscles, and brain, including endorphins, encephalin, and other neurochemicals.

An acupuncturist may focus on a few qi meridians for back pain. Some acupuncture points for lower back pain are:

• back of the knees points
• foot points
• lower back points
• hand points
• hip points
• stomach points

Points for upper back pain (thoracic back pain) are usually different. These are on the head, neck, shoulders, and upper and lower back.

By stimulating these points with the use of acupuncture needles, parts of the nervous system are also increased to relieve the pain. Acupuncture can also reduce pain from other similar neuromuscular issues for which there may not be many pain remedy options. These include:

• headaches
• fibromyalgia
• musculoskeletal pain
• post-surgery recovery
• sciatica
• TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder)

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References:

https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/guide/back-pain-and-acupuncture

https://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/back-pain

https://www.healthline.com/health/acupuncture-for-back-pain#research