10 Issues Acupuncture Can Treat to Relieve Chronic Pain

When something is tried and true, it generally means it’s been tested and found to be reliably effective. This certainly applies to the practice of acupuncture, which has been around for thousands of years.

Western medicine has made inroads, but when it comes to conditions that lead to chronic pain, acupuncture has proven to be a welcome adjunct or complementary therapy.

At Revive Spine and Pain Center, our team’s primary goal is to help our patients find nonsurgical solutions for painful conditions of all kinds. To do this, we often combine modern treatments with adjunct treatments like medical acupuncture, providing a one-two punch that can work very well in relieving pain.

Here, we dive into how medical acupuncture works to relieve pain and which conditions we routinely treat with this ancient practice.

The art of acupuncture

As we mentioned, acupuncture is an ancient practice that dates back millennia, and we commonly refer to it as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). 

At its core, acupuncture is founded on the principle that energy in the human body flows through a sort of roadway system called meridians that pass through around 2,000 acupuncture points. 

If there’s a blockage in any of these acupoints, there can be an imbalance in the flow, which can lead to discomfort and malfunction. To restore the flow of energy and healing resources, we insert thin needles into these acupoints to release the blockage and restore flow.

While this explanation is geared more toward the Eastern bent, let’s look at it from a modern medicine perspective. 

In short, acupuncture works on a biochemical level and can influence neurotransmitter activity to promote endorphin production (the body’s natural painkiller), as well as influence inflammatory factors to reduce inflammation and pain and to restore function.

Conditions that can benefit from medical acupuncture

Now let’s look at some of the many conditions that we often address with acupuncture. Nearly one-quarter of adults report chronic pain, and this extensive issue is largely driven by the following conditions:

• Back pain, which is the leading cause of disability in the United States
• Neck pain, which affects more than 200 million people around the world
• Arthritis, which affects nearly 55 million Americans
• Peripheral neuropathy, which is commonly associated with diabetes
• Headaches, including tension headaches and migraines
• Knee pain
• Shoulder pain
• Hip pain
• Cancer pain
• Myofascial pain, which is in the connective tissues surrounding your muscles

This list is far from complete, but we wanted to give you an idea about the many conditions that can benefit from acupuncture. From head to toe, there’s a good chance that acupuncture can play a role in addressing what ails you.

If you’d like to explore whether you can add acupuncture to your pain management arsenal, we invite you to contact us at one of our conveniently located offices in Marlton, Hamilton Township, Northfield, or East Brunswick, New Jersey, to schedule an appointment.