Many people learn to live with chronic pain and do not see a specialist to help alleviate daily ailments. In some cases, due to ignorance of the pathology or the general belief that aging means living with pain, many do not receive the appropriate treatment capable of reducing pain, delaying the evolution of the pathology and, therefore, improving their quality of life.
Currently, we live in a new era in medicine, since traditional medicine is added to alternative medicine, which combined achieve better results in the inhibition of chronic pain. One of those techniques, which is gaining followers every day, is acupuncture.
Acupuncture is effective in 49 diseases and disorders
This traditional Chinese technique arises from the conception of the body as a network of interconnected points through which energy flows. When there is a blockage or stagnation of that energy in the channel, that is when pain occurs.
Acupuncture consists of stimulating anatomical areas of the skin by inserting fine metal needles. Its placement in specific areas of the body called acupuncture points, allow a better electrical conduction that is capable of provoking biological responses in the patient. In this way, they (acupuncturists) cause stimuli in the nervous, hormonal and immune systems that manage to return the body to a state of balance.
Such is its effectiveness that the World Health Organization has qualified this technique as an effective option against pain. Furthermore, it is effective in at least 49 diseases and disorders. Especially, it has shown great benefits in the treatment of low back pain, postoperative pain, fibromyalgia, neuropathic, joint and musculoskeletal pain. It also acts at the hormonal and nervous system level.
Although it is a simple and painless technique, it is not completely harmless. Special care must be taken in pregnant patients, in infected areas, patients with blood coagulation problems or severe neurological or psychiatric disorders. Even so, it is necessary to go to the pain specialist beforehand, who will determine the suitability of alternative medicine in the case of each patient.
benefits of acupuncture
Acupuncture has been shown to have benefits in the treatment of chronic pain, but also in many other aspects, such as improving physical recovery, digestion, or reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. It has also been seen that it improves blood circulation as it regulates blood flow, favoring the supply of nutrients and oxygen in the body.
This traditional Chinese medicine method has been used for several years in different hospitals in Europe and the US and has already begun to be implemented in some centers in the Middle East to treat chronic pain and improve the quality of life of patients.
Medications are often not enough to treat chronic pain, but there are alternative therapies that are showing success in treating this condition. Although pain is supposed to be good because it alerts us to injury, infection, or disease, it’s not so helpful when it never goes away.
A better way to relieve pain.
Chronic pain can come from many causes, from migraines to cancer, and persist for a few months of life after an injury or illness. It can disrupt sleep, due to depression and anxiety, decrease libido, affect social relationships, and impair memory and cognitive functioning.
Usually, the first defense against this threat is medication, but it is not enough and carries risks such as upset stomach or addiction. That is why more and more people are turning to acupuncture to relieve chronic pain.
Science is slowly incorporating this ancient Chinese medicine practice, though experts have yet to figure out why inserting needles into the skin helps alleviate back pain, injuries, and conditions like fibromyalgia. According to some specialists, acupuncture blocks pain signals or stimulates the body to release painkillers.
Several studies showed that patients who received acupuncture had less migraine or injury pain than those who received standard drug treatments. Even when progress was modest, the great advantage of this practice was the lack of side effects. Also, even if the needles are not placed exactly along the meridians (energy channels, according to Chinese tradition), patients get the same benefits, and if done correctly, this procedure causes little to no discomfort.
Among its many benefits, acupuncture helps improve blood circulation and lower blood pressure, favors the elimination of toxic products through the lymphatic system, improves muscle tone, prevents muscle atrophy and reduces emotional stress.
Scientists know that physical contact helps reduce pain, although they don’t know how this mechanism works. In addition, specialists maintain that light touch therapy and acupuncture decrease the production of cortisol, a stress-releasing hormone (in turn, associated with increased pain). However, despite all the positive studies, experts are still not sure how many messages should be applied or what type they should be for a particular pathology.