Acupuncture for pain

Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists or recurs for more than 3 months. There is now a good body of research into the use of acupuncture treatment for chronic pain. So much so that NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends acupuncture as one of the treatment options, alongside psychological therapy, exercise and electrical physical modalities such as TENS.
Antidepressants are also sometimes prescribed to help with quality of life, pain, sleep and psychological distress but they come with side effects and are not for everyone.
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Acupuncture can help relieve pain in many areas of the body including:
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Shoulder and neck pain
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Back pain
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Sciatica
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Migraines and headaches
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Fibromyalgia
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Plantar fasciitis
In chronic injury, nerve signals that were active during acute injury continue to send messages that the body is in pain. Although chronic pain is not fully understood, it is thought it could be due to nerves that have become damaged. New research also indicates that chronic pain can come from a malfunction in the way the brain maps sensory information.
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Many people with chronic pain experience problems sleeping. Lack of restorative sleep can make the pain worse, resulting in a frustrating cycle of pain and sleeplessness.
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Acupuncture can help to relieve muscle tension and also look to address stress or emotional factors, which are often implicated in cases of chronic pain.
Acupuncture for pain—the research
In a large study on chronic pain, 454,920 patients were treated with acupuncture for headache, lower back pain, and/or osteoarthritis. Effectiveness was rated as marked or moderate in 76% of cases by the 8,727 treating physicians. And in a 2-year retroactive survey of over 89,000 patients published in 2016, 93% of patients said that their acupuncturist had been successful in treating their musculoskeletal pain.
A meta-analysis of 17,922 patients from randomized trials concluded, ‘Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo.’ A follow up study looking at long-term pain relief also found that the benefits of acupuncture persisted 12 months after treatment ended.
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How does acupuncture for pain work?
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Acupuncture has been shown to activate a number of the body’s own opioids as well as improving the brain’s sensitivity to them. A number of other biochemicals involved in pain reduction have been found to be released or regulated by acupuncture treatment, including ATP and adenosine, GABA and substance P.
Acupuncture for pain—what to expect
Acupuncture is a holistic treatment and the initial consultation involves taking a detailed case history looking at all elements of your physical and emotional health. Rather than looking at seemingly unrelated symptoms in isolation, they are seen as inter-connected, and can help to form a detailed diagnosis.