Pain
100 people with pain experience it in 100 different ways. Let’s figure out the most effective ways to address YOUR pain.
Pain
100 people with pain experience it in 100 different ways. Let’s figure out the most effective ways to address YOUR pain.
One of the most common conditions we treat in the clinic is pain. No matter how severe or how long you’ve been in pain, our specially-trained practitioners can almost certainly help you feel better.
Over 50 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain. One in three people lose 20 hours of sleep per month due to pain. Acupuncture has been proven by time, experience, and science to be an effective way to treat pain. Although the quality, intensity, duration, and localization of pain is different for everyone, there are a few basic causes for most pain conditions, all of which can be helped by acupuncture:
Structural Imbalance
Structural Imbalance from scoliosis, subluxed vertebrae, tumors, bulging or herniated discs and pinched nerves causing muscle, tendon, and ligament pain.Structural Imbalance from scoliosis, subluxed vertebrae, tumors, bulging or herniated discs and pinched nerves causing muscle, tendon, and ligament pain.
Physical Injury
Physical Injury from car accidents or sports injuries causing immediate pain after the injury or chronic pain from unhealed physical trauma. Physical Injury from car accidents or sports injuries causing immediate pain after the injury or chronic pain from unhealed physical trauma.
Chronic Inflammation
Chronic Inflammation from many factors such as inappropriate diet, blood sugar imbalance, lack of or incorrect exercise, and repetitive stress (like long hours in front of the computer) causing muscle tightness and inflammation. Conditions like Rheumatoid or Osteo-Arthritis, Fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome all stem from systemic inflammation and can cause serious and debilitating chronic pain. Chronic Inflammation from many factors such as inappropriate diet, blood sugar imbalance, lack of or incorrect exercise, and repetitive stress (like long hours in front of the computer) causing muscle tightness and inflammation. Conditions like Rheumatoid or Osteo-Arthritis, Fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome all stem from systemic inflammation and can cause serious and debilitating chronic pain.
Stress
Stress Sets off the body’s inflammatory cascade, induces chronic muscle tension, and decreases the pain threshold. That means the same level of pain actually feels more intense when a person is in a stressed state, compared to when they’re relaxed.
Pain can be so many things. From chronic migraines to nerve pain in the toes, pain in the muscles and joints to organ pain, it can reside anywhere in the body, and come from any combination of these causes.
Conventional treatments include pain medications, oral and injected steroids, antidepressants, physical therapy, and surgery. Some of these treatments carry a significant risk of addiction, and others have strong side effects or become ineffective in the long run.
Acupuncture is one of the most effective and non-invasive treatment modalities for addressing pain, and it is also among the best-documented complementary and alternative medicine therapies in the scientific literature. As of 2023, there are over 11,000 studies in the NIH’s PubMed examining the use and effectiveness of acupuncture specifically for pain.
Many of these studies suggest that acupuncture is significantly more effective at relieving pain as compared to placebo, physical therapy, or usual care (1). One study found that acupuncture can be more effective than conventional therapies for post-cesarean pain (2). Another study showed people who received acupuncture for their low back pain were less likely to need to see their doctor than those patients who had not received acupuncture (3). Or another that showed acupuncture treatments significantly improved all measurable outcomes in patients who had migraine, episodic, and chronic tension-type headaches (4). The studies go on and on.
Since pain is one of the top reasons a person seeks out acupuncture at our clinic, and because we have treated people with all types of pain, we have a comprehensive approach to its treatment. Addressing the specific areas of pain alongside individualized treatment for inflammation provides a successful combination to relieving and even eliminating your pain.
The various Acupuncture styles practiced at MHS target specific types of pain conditions. Often, patients experience pain relief that is rapid, significant, and long-lasting. Acupuncture treatments also help to regulate the immune system and inflammation, promote healthy circulation patterns, and decrease the stress response, all of which help to address pain at the root level. Specifically, we have 3 high-trained pain management practitioners at MHS who take on our pain cases, all with excellent and lasting results.
We provide Dietary Counseling to give your unique constitution a nutrient-dense and anti-inflammatory diet. Sometimes, where pain is concerned, food can be your best medicine and we will help you figure out which foods increase or can help decrease your pain.
Herbal and Nutritional Supplementation can greatly reduce pain on a daily basis. Specific herbs and supplements will decrease inflammation and improve fundamental biological processes such as blood sugar dysregulation, hormonal imbalances, and dysfunctions in the organs or the immune system.
Your acupuncturist may also provide you with stretches and exercises you can do at home to continue the benefits of treatment on your own.
A combination of the above therapies provides swift results. When you incorporate acupuncture with dietary changes and herbs or supplements all together, you can expect to experience rapid and lasting improvements. These are the kind of results that reduce or even eliminate your pain and significantly improve your quality of life.
References
1. Frulan AD, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and safety of selected complementary and alternative medicine for neck and low-back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:953139. Epub 2011 Nov 24.
2. Xu J, and Mackenzie IZ. The current use of acupuncture during pregnancy and childbirth. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Jan 13.
3. Moritz S et al. Reduced health resource use after acupuncture for low-back pain. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Nov;17(11):1015-9. Epub 2011 Nov 9.
4. Melchart D et al. Acupuncture for chronic headaches--an epidemiological study. Headache. 2006 Apr;46(4):632-41.
Contact us
Location
3207 Old Chapel Hill Road
Durham, NC 27707
Hours
M-F: 9am-5pm
Sat: by appointment
Sun: closed