Learn how Chinese medicine can benefit you in living a healthier and happier life.
Back pain is one of the most common reasons that people seek out complementary therapies like acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic. Thankfully, acupuncture can help big time! Research shows that acupuncture helps relieve many types of pain, especially back pain. Acupuncture may even be more effective for acute low back pain than NSAID medications like Ibuprofen.
But how does acupuncture work for back pain? Or, more accurately, how does Chinese medicine work?
A common question I hear from patients at their first appointment is: How often do I need to come in for treatments?
Well, of course there's no one-size-fits all answer to anything when it comes to health - and each patient gets a treatment plant for their exact needs - but I can give you a general overview of what I've seen work best for my patients.
There are three common levels of care in acupuncture - each with their own treatment frequency. Your acupuncturist will first figure out where you are on this spectrum, and then come up with a treatment plan customized specifically for you.
"Am I going to look like the guy from Hellraiser?"
"I don’t know about acupuncture - What if I’m afraid of needles?!"
"Do I have to lie as still as a board when the needles are in?"
These are just some of the common questions people ask me when they’re in my office for their first acupuncture treatment.
Yeah, acupuncture is getting more and more commonplace nowadays (even my Grandpa had acupuncture for a painful hip almost 10 years ago), but it’s still a pretty bizarre thing for many, many people.
Today I’m going to demystify an acupuncture treatment for all y’all. Help you to see what my devoted patients see. Understand why I can have a new patient going from being a nervous wreck about the thought of needles in their body one second, to blissfully snoozing away on the table 30 minutes later.
Wanna know the #1 question I get asked when people find out I'm an acupuncturist?
"Does it hurt?"
OK, I get it. I say "needle" and the first thing that pops into your head is "pain." But acupuncture is known to treat pain, not cause it!
The simplest answer to your question is, "No." In fact, many of my patients fall into such a deep state of relaxation that they will often fall asleep on my massage table. A handful of them even snore! The rest of them get so zoned out during treatments, they get up afterward and feel like they've been at a Grateful Dead concert for way too long. Yep, they're acu-stoned.
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