Acupuncture and Low Back Pain at Aletris in Scottsdale, AZ
In the United States, low back pain is one of the most common reasons patients go to a physician. It is one of the most frequent causes of missed workdays and one of the most expensive conditions in the United States; according to a recent government report, in 1999, nearly one million people in the U.S. missed work to treat some form of back pain. Fortunately, acupucture can provide relief from this common ailment.

Back pain can be caused from many issues including poor posture, weak muscles, joint malalignment, nerve pain, kidney problems, etc. and half of all adults will experience some form of low back pain during their lifetime. The fact that humans walk upright puts a large amount of pressure on the lumbar spine and the muscles that support it.  Unfortunately, modern medicine is lagging in the ability to diagnose the true cause of back pain. This is due to the fact that 60% of all Americans have some sort of structural abnormality on an X-ray or MRI that causes them no pain. When physicians go to image a back pain sufferer, often what they see may not be the true cause of pain and many orthopedic surgeries do not correct the problem or make the pain worse.

Most back pain is muscular in origin. Muscle pain perpetuates what is known as the pain cycle, a phenomenon of which the back is particularly prone. In the pain cycle, pain causes a muscle to spasm, which may move the discs, joints and nerves of the spine. This spasm leads to further pain, leading to further misalignment, which compounds the original problem.

Acupuncture can play an important role in the reduction or elimination of back pain and preventing a chronic condition from developing. Oftentimes, relief from back pain is immediate after an acupuncture treatment. Remember, acupuncture stimulates qi (or energy) to circulate in an area and can often stop a pain cycle.
Research has shown that acupuncture causes the body to produce natural endorphins, or pain killers. A traditional medical prescription might lead to pain killers, muscle relaxers, or corticosteroid injections which eventually mask the pain. These medications are often costlier and with greater side effects than acupuncture.

As with any other form of care, however, remember that not all patients will respond to acupuncture. Make sure to discuss the situation completely with your acupuncturist before undergoing treatment for back pain.

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