What is Lower Back pain?
Lower Back pain can be broadly categorised into 3 main categories;
- Acute Pain. This type of pain typically comes on suddenly and lasts for a few days or weeks, and is considered a normal response by the body to injury or soft-tissue damage. The pain gradually subsides as the body heals
- Subacute Low Back Pain. Lasting between 6 weeks to 12 weeks, this type of pain is usually prolonged and mechanical in nature; such as a muscle strain or joint pain. At this point, a medical workup may be considered, and is advisable if the pain is severe and limits one’s ability to participate in activities of daily living, sleep, or work.
- Chronic Back Pain. Usually defined as lower back pain that lasts over 12 weeks this type of pain can vary in intensity, in some cases does not respond to initial treatments, and requires a thorough medical workup to determine the exact source of the pain and multifaceted approach to manage (1).
What causes Lower Back pain & how does Acupuncture help?
One of the most common cause of back pain is muscle or ligament pain; the lower Back is susceptible to strain because of its weight-bearing function and connection in movements, such as twisting and bending. Muscle strain is caused when muscle fibers are over-stretched or torn. Inflammation is common at the site of injury, usually accompanied by pain with movement, it is common to also experience a decreased range of motion meaning it is difficult to bend, stretch or move (2).
Typical signs of muscle or ligament pain are; ache or stiffness, worse with movement, better with rest or movement, tightness feeling in the muscles and can spasm.
When you strain your back several things are occuring;
- Tiny muscle fibres or ligaments get overstretched.
- The body creates inflammation.
- Nearby muscles go into protective spasm.
- Blood flow becomes reduced and tight.
- Pain signals stay switched on
The biggest problem is often muscle spasm and persistent pain signalling, not serious damage. This is where acupuncture fits in. Acupuncture assists in sevral different ways;
- It relaxes the muscle spasm; Think of it like hitting a “reset button” for the muscle, the needles causes the muscle fibres to release causing reduce tighness, stiffness and increased ability to move
- It improves blood flow to injured tissue; When muscles are strained there is also poor blood flow occuring to the tissue, acupuncture dilates blood vessels allowing greater flow of blood bringing with it oxygen and the nutrients to aid in muscle repair.
- Reduces inflammation; Acupuncture has been shown to reduce substances that cause pain, such as: Substance P and Pro-inflammatory cytokines. At the same time, it increases anti-inflammatory signalling
- Changes how the brain process pain; This is huge and often misunderstood. Pain is not only in tissues — it’s also in the nervous system. Acupuncture stimulates nerves that signal the brain to release: endorphins (natural pain-killers you body produces), serotonin and dopamine, these reduce pain perception, create relaxation and reduce stress-related tension. This is also why people often feel sleepy and more relaxed after an Acupuncture treatment
- Resets the pain-spasm cycle; Back pain often becomes a pain loop (pain – muscle spasm – reduced movement – pain). Acupuncture can assist to reset this loop by reducing pain, relaxing muscles and making movements easier.
- Reduces protective guarding; After an injury the nervous system keeps the muscles in the are tight to “protect” the area from further damage. Acupunctrue tells’ the nervous stystem “you are safe now” and allows the area to relax
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What to expect after Acupunctue?
After Acupuncture you should expect some initial relief occuring in the next few days. For some people within minutes you might feel a change in muscles, feeling looser. However this is not the case for everyone sometimes this change occurs later that day or the next day. After a session over the next 48 hours you should feel movements are getting easier and slowly pain reducing.
A general timeline of treatment is to expect;
- First week (sessions 1-3) – The first few treatments are aimed at breaking the cute pain cycle. You may experience minor relief after the Acupuncture session, which is often a feeling of looseness in muscle area affected, or shifting, and pain slightly reduced. However, it is more common for these changes to appear the next day or gradually over the next few days. Over the next week or next few sessions, the pain intensity will decrease, less stiffness, less catching and locking up. However, pain can quickly return so caution on movements is still recommended.
- Weeks 2-3 (sessions 3-6) – This phase stabilises the improvements, typically as much clear improvement over these weeks in the level of pain. There is also less muscle guarding occurring during movements, tissues are healing and less flair ups happen. You will start to be able to go around your normal routine without pain.
- Weeks 3+ – This is the maintenance and restoration phase. To keep you feeling good day to day.
Remember that muscle spasms is partly a nervous system habit, not just a tight muscle. Think of it as resetting a faulty alarm system. Once improved this is where you can slowly increase exercises and stretching to further maintain results
Let’s talk about research into Acupuncture treatment of Low Back Pain?
Acupuncture has shown clinically and in research to be effective at treating lower back pain (3). In fact, Acupuncture treatment of this type of back pain is one of he most studied Acupunctrue conditions, so we know from clinical research that Acupuncture does;
- Reduce pain intensity
- Improves short term outcomes
- Reduces medication use
- Considered “safe: with less side effects compared with other treaments such as medication (4)
It is important to note that Acupuncture works best when it is part of a broader treatment plan, this is why your practitioner will often recommend addidional exercises / stretches or refer you to a practitiner who can. It’s all about providing yoru longer term solutions rather than a quick fix.
