BACK PAIN - Your Questions Answered

One of the most debilitating conditions is back pain. It contributes to days off work, reduced productivity and quality of life impacted. Chinese Medicine practitioners routinely see patients with pain, and back pain is definatley on the top of the list of commonly treated conditions in my clinical practice.

Here are some answers of frequent questions and common treatments we offer:

1) Firstly, seeking help earlier can reduce the number of treatments needed.

2) One big difference between acupuncture and other therapies such ans chiropractic, is acupuncture is not designed to be an ongoing treatment. CM practitioner must treat both the root and the manifestation of the disease in order to administer proper CM protocol of therapy.

3) IF the cause of the problem is ongoing and not eliminated, then ongoing treatment may be necessary. The above principal (2) cannot be applied correctly if the patient is continuously exposing him/herself to the cause. EG - lack of exercise, extreme weight, poor posture & repetitive movements are all common ongoing causes.

4) Moxibustion is a warming method we commonly use to treat back pain. Moxa as it is easily known, treats back pain by providing a blood moving and warming therapeutic effect to the acupuncture (by warming the needle). It's like having a hot pack but going straight into the points where the muscles are tight or the inflammation is causing the pain

5) Cupping is a NO NEEDLES technique which works by a heated suction effect on the skin. This warms and stretched the muscle gently, which, over a 20 minute period cause the old blood to be brought to the surface and fresh, new blood can get in there and heal the area. This method is great for children and adults who might be scared of needles. A bruise-like mark is produced. During the treatment a pulling feeling is felt, but there is no pain (during or after). Sometimes after the treatment, patients feel like the pain moves around the next day, followed by a great pain relief feeling the second day.

Cupping is particularly beneficial in "telling the muscles" their new position. As muscles have a memory and they often go back to their old, regular tightness after manual therapies such as chiropractic or massage therapy.

6) Everyone is different, and I generally don't like to generalise number of treatments needed, however it is a common question,

HOW MANY TREATMENTS WILL I NEED?

Back pain can be treated in 1 -3 sessions, chronic conditions usually require 4 - 6 treatments in a 2-3 week period, followed by ongoing monthly or fortnightly treatments to maintain a pain-free back.

If you have any questions about back pain, or any other health condition, you may call Marie at Metro Health and medicine on 1300 132 830, or email to marie@metrohealth.com.au.