There are many reasons why I have a Specialty Pain Clinic option where I use acupuncture for pain management in my practice. The first reason has to do with need for options for pain management.
A 2010 medical survey on pain found that annual costs of pain-related conditions totaled $309 billion per year at that time in the United States. Pain-related costs were actually higher than those of cancer which weighed in at $243 billion and diabetes at $188 billion.1
Granted, this is a mind-blowingly large amount of money as well as resources spent trying to control pain. What about the other non-monetary “costs,” such as loss of enjoyment of life, the inability to play with your kids or join your family on outings? What about the heartbreaking sense of missing out because pain makes it impossible to be physically or emotionally present? How do we even begin to measure those losses?
Another reason why I devote a significant portion of my private acupuncture practice to the treatment of pain is that people are suffering. Many people experience severe side effects if they take opiod prescription pain medications. They do not tolerate them due to nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, constipation, or drowsiness.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) are certainly easy to get without even a prescription at any drug store. However, they are not without risk. On two occasions this year alone, I have had clients who developed gastric rupture and severe internal bleeding which required emergency surgical repair. Both incidences were due to intake of ibuprofen. It is important to note that one of those patients had taken ibuprofen for only for 2 days following a dental procedure and had not taken the medication in excess.
So what are options for pain control if medications are not possible?
Research continues to consistently find that acupuncture can be an effective method of managing and reducing many types of pain. A significant portion of my private practice acupuncture patients see me for pain management of both short term and chronic pain. A number of my new patients initially walk into my office limping, with tears in their eyes. They are able to stand, sit or walk for only short periods of time. Their sleep is very poor quality, and a common complaint is that they think they are not being good parents, spouses and human beings because they are in so much pain so often. After receiving acupuncture, it is gratifying for me to witness their pain reduced and/or resolved and to know that their tears are replaced by delight dancing in their eyes.
I want to share with you some information about what science has discovered about acupuncture as a treatment for pain. Below are summaries of two recent studies published in respected, peer reviewed medical journals.
A 2012 meta-analysis on acupuncture for chronic pain found acupuncture to be effective for
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Headache pain
- Chronic headache pain
- Osteoarthritis pain
This particular study looked at 29 high quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of 17,922 patients.2 With respect to medical research, generally the greater the number of people who participate in trials, the more reliable the results are considered to be.
The study also had rigorous rules about which RCTs were eligible to even be included in their review. For example, all the included studies had to specifically address the above-noted types of pain and it had to compare an acupuncture treatment group to a non-acupuncture treatment group. The length of time the participants’ pain was endured had to have been at least 4 weeks.
Here is a quote from another study:
“Clinical experience has shown that acute nonspecific LBP {low back pain}, which is mostly diagnosed as acute lumbar sprain, responds rapidly to acupuncture, which achieves alleviation in pain intensity and duration, and also contributes to the prompt return of patients to their normal working activity.” (Lee & Lee, 2013, p. 3).3
This is taken from a review of 11 RCTs in The Clinical Journal of Pain. The researchers also found that people who received acupuncture treatments:
- Had greater pain improvement with quicker results vs. the medication-only group
- Had fewer episodes of recurring back pain after the studies were completed
- Had fewer side effects vs. taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS)4
If you or someone you love is suffering from pain, which perhaps has become chronic and is not responding well to medications, acupuncture is perfect complimentary medicine to choose. Studies find it to be effective, safe, with few side effects, affordable, and deeply relaxing. Call today and live a happier, healthier life with less pain!
1 Gaskin, D.J., & Richard, P. (2011). Appendix C, The Economic Costs of Pain in the United States. In Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care, and Education, Board on Health Services Policy, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care Education, and Research. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.
2 Vickers, A.J., Cronin, A.M., Maschino, A.C., Lewith,G., MacPherson,H., Foster, N.E., Sherman, K.J., Witt, C.M., & Linde, K. (2012). Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis. Archives of Internal Medicine, 172(19):1444-1453. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3654.
3 Lee, J-H., Choi, T-Y., Lee, M.S., Lee, H., Shin, B-C., Lee, H. 2013. Acupuncture for acute low back pain: A systematic review. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 29 (2):172-185. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e31824909f9
4 Ibid.
