Acupuncture has been utilized for centuries in the treatment of back injuries from muscular strains and contusions to spine pain from nerve root injury to disc herniation. The thrust of treatment is for pain and inflammation but also for structural recovery to preinjury status.
Acupuncture is used in the rehabilitation and recovery from back injury and degenerative conditions. It is used as a pain control tool as well as a structural modifier in traumatic injury by affecting the proprioceptive, how a muscle contracts, aspect of a muscle.
Acupuncture is used in the rehabilitation and recovery from back injury and degenerative conditions. It is used as a pain control tool as well as a structural modifier in traumatic injury by affecting the proprioceptive, how a muscle contracts, aspect of a muscle.
Degenerative changes occur in all of us. This can appear as the loss of disc heighth. In some instances the muscle tightness and rigidity compress the the spinal segments creating nerve impingement and the resultant pain and inflammation that can occur.
There are many facets of low back pain from a simple muscle strain to a much more complex picture involving spinal nerves and boney structure. Acupuncture has the capability of interfacing in virtually all areas either as a main intervention or as a supplemental therapy such as in the rehabilitation after surgery.
Disc injuries can be caused or exacerbated by a number of factors including: Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) Bulging or herniated disc - also known as ruptured, torn, slipped, collapsed or protruding discs.
The primary cause of pain in these cases is a change of the normal orientation of the nerve to the surrounding tissue. When the disc is protruding it can press on the nerve causing pain at the sight of the impingement and further along the course of the nerve (into the buttocks or down the leg, even to the foot). A collapsed disc is unable to hold the vertebrae in place allowing them to press on the nerve.
Acupuncture does not repair a collapsed or bulging disc, but by reducing associated inflammation in the area and reducing pain through both local (at the nerve and nerve root) and systemic (at the spinal cord and brain) pathways is often able to significantly reduce pain.
Acupuncture's re-balancing properties also help in rehabilitation of injury by reinforcing movement patterns that are less likely to cause injury.
The sciatic nerve is a rather large nerve that arises from several spinal segments in the low back and passes through the large muscles of the buttocks and underneath a smaller muscle called the piriformis. Sciatica is the inflammation of this large nerve that can be quite painful and unrelenting. The acupuncture is aimed at the muscular guarding secondary to the pain and at the inflammation of the nerve.
Spinal Stenosis is the narrowing of the central spinal canal or of the small aperture where the spinal nerves exit the spine. The central canal can be congenital, from birth, in nature whereas the foraminal stensosis is generally from the wear and tear our spines endure through our lives. Acupuncture addresses the symptoms and effects of the stenosis but not the stenosis itself.
This condition is a forward, toward the abdomen, slip of the lower lumbar vertebrae on the sacrum. It is known as a “spondy” in clinical medicine. This condition places a great deal of stresses on the lower lumbar segments and the muscles and nerves that are housed there. Acupuncture addresses the tension and torsional stresses and the pain and inflammation that result.
A “stinger” is an acute condition involving the nerve root as it exits the spine. Due to severe sheering forces the spinal segments acutely compress usually a cervical nerve root producing an immobilizing pain/numbness and or tingling into the upper extremity. Acupuncture is used to address the muscular guarding that accompanies the acute phase and the recovery from the nerve injury in the immediate post acute phase.
In virtually all cases of upper back pain whether due to trauma or life stresses acupuncture will be able to address the tension and decreased mobility associated with these types of disorders.
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