Acupuncture Provides Long-Term Relief of Low Back Pain

Acupuncture can provide long-lasting benefits to low back pain sufferers, and is a cost effective treatment.

Chronic back pain is one the most common and difficult-to-treat medical problems in health care.

The costs in terms of lost productivity and workers' compensation are staggering.

Acupuncture has become an accepted treatment for the condition in both the United States and in Europe.

Low back pain patients treated with acupuncture reported better pain control than those who got no acupuncture.

Traditional Chinese Medicine as Treatment for Back Pain

TCM works to restore harmony and energetic balance to the body which stimulates natural healing and promotes health. Acupuncture is one of the primary modalities used and treatment is individual to each patient.

When your practitioner treats your back pain with acupuncture, both local (at the site of pain) and distal (away from the area of pain) needles can be used to help resolve the problem. Distal points are very important, especially in acute pain. Often, needles can be placed in areas other than the back and you can get excellent and quick relief. There are many local points on the back and often a practitioner will palpate your body to find the most sensitive spots and needle those. Other adjuncts to treatment might include: electric stimulation of points, and cupping. Generally, it is advisable to have frequent treatment initially and taper off as the pain diminishes. Herbs can also be helpful in moving blood and reducing inflammation as well as strengthening a deficient condition.

Acupuncture continues to gain popularity in this country because it is an effective treatment of acute and chronic backache. Acute pain can often be cleared up in a few sessions. More treatments may be needed if there is an underlying deficiency, or reoccurring problem, or sciatica.

Who is Dr. Glenn Marr?

Acupuncture therapy helps many people with many types of problems!
If you are suffering from acute sinusitis, low back pain, back or neck pain, or even monthly cramps, there may be relief with Acupuncture therapy. Acupuncture therapy is given for a wide variety of symptoms and problems including weight loss and smoking sensation.

Dr. Glenn Marr has been treating patients for these problems and many other problems for fourteen years. He can communicate with you about your problem and then explain exactly what the Acupuncture therapy will consist of. There are 3 types of Acupuncture therapy that Dr. Marr uses; disposable needle Acupuncture, heat Acupuncture, and electric Acupunture.Most patients say that they do not feel most of the needles. This is true, as the needles are very small in diameter, about the size of a piece of hair. Even if you do not want needles at all, you can be treated with the heat or electric Acupuncture. The heat acupuncture is very soothing and relaxing and can be used for most problems especially sinus problems. The electric acupuncture is barely felt at all by almost all patients, and can be used for all types of Acupuncture therapy.

Sign Up for Dr. Marr's monthly newsletter, you will be able to receive discounts on your visits and also read about the latest and greatest in Acupuncture Relief and the latest techniques that will cure your body.

The Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine

When an individual is diagnosed with a “back problem” in Western medicine be it spondylosis, spinal osteoarthritis, prolapsed lumbar disc or muscular/ligamentous lumbar strain the focus is primarily on the lower back region and within the Western medical model the options become therapies like spinal surgery, physical therapy, pharmaceutical intervention and cortisone or epidural type injections. These are perfectly acceptable modalities but what if they don’t alleviate the pain? And, what about the underlying cause for the back weakness in the first place? Can that underlying weakness be strengthened? Let us consider this possibility via Chinese medicine.

The Relation of the Kidney System in TCM and Low Back Pain

The low back is the “mansion of the Kidneys” meaning that the low back is most closely related, but not limited to, the health of the Kidney system. It is without question, in low back pain, that the Kidney system be treated in Chinese medicine.

Back on the subject of Qi, it is said in Chinese Medicine:

If there is free flow, there is no pain;
If there is no free flow, there is pain.

Basically, what this means is if the Qi and/or blood stagnate in the channel(s), specifically through the region of the low back, there will be pain. Imagine a river flowing unimpeded and suddenly a tree falls across the river, we see in our imagination the water no longer flowing freely, but getting blocked by the log, pushing into the banks of the river. The basic concept of acupuncture is to re-open the river, create a circulation so that the log lifts and normal flow is restored.

How does the free flow of Qi and blood in the body become impeded, so as to cause pain?

1. An external invasion of wind, cold, dampness, or heat may invade the lower back region causing pain. If our defensive Qi or immune system is weak we become more susceptible to external invasions through the pores of our skin.

2. The Qi and blood can stagnate due to trauma (i.e. lifting, repetitive strain over time, an accident or similar sprain).

3. There may be an insufficiency of Qi or blood creating a sluggishness or stagnation of flow throughout the channel(s). This is an internal cause or weakness with a number of possible etiologies such as:

* Poor diet, insufficient rest coupled with too much activity or overwork (i.e. busy lives, excessive sex*), overuse of drugs, chronic illness, heredity weakness, an excess of the emotions fear and anxiety, and general aging as our Qi is naturally declining.

* The Chinese believe that a healthy, moderate amount of sex supports a good flow of Qi and too much sex (specifically ejaculation for men and childbirth for women), depletes the Qi, blood and essence of the Kidneys.