| ¡¡ You lifted too much, overdid it on the tennis court,
sat slouched too long at the office desk. Bed rest and painkillers, you've
tried. If you still don't have relief, maybe it's time you saw a doctor.
Second to the common cold, low back pain actually is the most frequent
reason people see a doctor or miss work. The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services estimates Americans pay $50 billion a year in the United
States.
Most back pain disappears on its own in seven to 10 days. But whether the
pain lasts a short while or is longer-lasting (chronic), you'll want to find
out if it's something serious and you'll want some relief.
What is medical acupuncture?
As alternative medicine increases in popularity, more patients finding
relief through medical acupuncture, a centuries-old Chinese healing
technique practiced by licensed doctors. A medical acupuncturist can
prescribe medications, order diagnostic testing and give acupuncture to
alleviate the pain of acute or chronic back pain, according to Robert
Schulman, M.D., a physical medicine/rehabilitation specialist in New York
City, and member of the board of the American Academy of Medical
Acupuncture.
"A medical acupuncturist is truly giving you the best of both worlds,"
Schulman says.
Most low back pain, whether acute or chronic, almost always can be treated
without surgery. And modern medical wisdom holds that no one treatment is a
miracle cure. Relief, experts say, is best obtained through a variety of
ways. Drugs are useful to control pain and discomfort, although medication
can have side effects. Exercise, physical therapy, spinal manipulation or
osteopathic manipulative therapy and chiropractic treatment can also help.
"As a stand alone treatment, there are gaps in what acupuncture does,"
Schulman says. However, acupuncture used synergistically with other
treatment often can speed the healing process, he says.
How does it work?
There are several theories about why acupuncture works. From the Chinese
perspective, back pain is an obstruction of "chi," or the body's own
internal energy. Acupuncture regulates the flow of chi, so chi stagnation
doesn't cause pain, Schulman explains.
From a more Western perspective, the tiny acupuncture needles, which are
placed at different points in the body, stimulate the production of
endorphins, "the body's own natural analgesic," Schulman says.
Putting an acupuncture needle into a muscle that's contracted helps coax
that muscle to relax. Another theory about how acupuncture works for back
pain is that it stimulates nerves in the legs and thighs, and decreases
inflammation of the nerves in the lower back that are causing pain.
What's more, the acupuncture treatment itself is profoundly relaxing,
particularly if stress or tension perpetuates your back pain, Schulman says.
Acupuncture can be effective in treating acute or sudden pain and chronic
pain, although it often takes longer to treat chronic pain, according to
Schulman. With chronic pain, he says it typically takes an average of 10 to
15 treatments during eight to 15 weeks. That is, once or twice a week over
that time period.
"If you have had back pain for five to 10 years, it's going to take some
doing to get better," Schulman says. "We also assume you're going to use any
and all methods at the same time. You still may need to be in a good therapy
program, and you still might use medication. But the goal with acupuncture
is to get you off medication more quickly."
Acupuncture needles are sterile, disposable and thinner than a pin. The
procedure is safe and painless if done properly, Schulman says. According to
the Food and Drug Administration, few complications have been reported with
acupuncture, considering the millions of people treated each year and the
number of needles used.
In acupuncture for back pain, the needles sometimes are put into the ankles
or behind the knee, or alongside your little finger. In a similar technique,
called percutaneous electrical stimulation (PENS), acupuncture needles are
used but specific acupuncture points are not.
"In the PENS technique, needles are put in sites that correspond with
relevant neurological intervention," Schulman explains. "That is, the region
of the nerve roots that enervate the muscles, bones and tendons of the
region that is in pain."
For insurance purposes, PENS still counts as acupuncture, Schulman advises.
Documenting acupuncture's success
According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) panel of scientists,
researchers and practitioners, clinical studies have shown that acupuncture
works as a therapy for back pain and other conditions, including, to name a
few, osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and stroke rehabilitation.
Schulman says there have been problems doing double-blind placebo clinical
studies -- a gold standard for medical research. It's difficult to provide a
placebo because "most people know if they are getting acupuncture," he says.
Furthermore, it's difficult to have a double-blind test because it's
impossible to 'blind' the person doing the acupuncture. "They know whether
they're doing it or not."
However, Schulman says, "there is 2,000 years of history with acupuncture;
and we don't have that 2,000 years of history with some (modern) medical
procedures we do."
To find a medical doctor who practices acupuncture in your area, call the
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture at 1-800-521-2262.
You can check whether a practitioner is licensed or registered and has
attended an accredited school of acupuncture by using the referral list
developed by the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Related Articles
Acupuncture Goes Mainstream
Acupuncture or Allergy Shots?
Alternative Medicine
External Sources
Acupuncture.com
American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Information resource:
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/dc/caz/pain/lbck/alert06132000.html |
