Pain and injuries are the most common reason people will seek Acupuncture. At Balanced Life Health Care some of the pain related conditions that people bring people into our clinic for Acupuncture include;
- Lower Back Pain and Sciatica
- Upper Back and Neck Pain
- Joint issues such as Tennis elbow, Golfers elbow and Knee issues
- Shoulder Pain
- Degenerative conditions such as Osteoarthritis
- Inflammatory conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Headaches and Migraines
- TMJ
A recent review of Acupuncture evidence has indicated that Acupuncture may be an effective treatment alone or in conjunction with other pain relief such as exercise, physiotherapy and so forth for a number of conditions including Lower Back Pain, Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain, Tennis Elbow, Knee Osteoarthritis, TMJ pain etc. (1)
How does Acupuncture help with pain?
There are many differing theories about how exactly Acupuncture treats pain. In fact much research has been doing into the possible mechanisms. Current research suggests that Acupuncture may;
- Reduce inflammation by releasing vascular and immunomodulatory factors (2) (3)
- Aids in the bodies release of it’s own natural pain killers (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
- Reduces swelling and increases mobility while reducing stiffness (9)
In many studies Acupuncture has also shown very few side effects and is often suggested as a front line treatment (10). Read more about individual pain conditions on each individual page or see Our blog for the latest research and great articles.
How many treatments will I need?
In general at the start of treatment in the first 2-3 weeks;
- 3 times per week if the pain is severe or acute
- 2 times a week if the problem is severe
- 1 time per week if a long treatment course is required, if the problem is not so severe, or if you respond particularly well (11)
After the required result is achieved, a significant decrease in pain or symptom then the treatment frequency is reduced. We ask most clients to commit to 3-5 treatments in order to try if Acupuncture will assist their condition.
