Low back pain is one of the most common reasons people see doctors. No one is immune to low back pain and it is a major reason why people miss doing activities and work.
Pain can have many causes; to name a few, diseases, structural deformities and trauma (pain from injuries and pain). Vertebral problems that are structural in nature such as stenosis, herniated discs and other vertebral deformities generate pain and other chronic problems. Some diseases that can cause pain are osteoporosis and ankylosing spondylosis. Symptoms of back pain usually manifest in the back’s lumbar region. The pain can affect only the back muscles and is localized. It may also travel to other parts of the body, particularly the legs. Some typical symptoms of back pain include numbness, spasmodic pain, dull pain, stabbing pain and throbbing pain as well as pain from the back traveling down to the toes causing pain and numbness to the toes. Back pain can be so severe that the victim may be unable to walk.
Conventional as well as alternative treatments for low back pain exist. For conventional treatments, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs are the most often used. For severe low back pain, back surgery is an option. For alternative treatments to back pain, the most popular would be traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) incorporates all-natural modalities that have existed for thousands of years. Acupuncture Bellingham is one of those modalities and is a very effective treatment for low back pain. TCM takes an entirely different view of the human body than Western medicine. TCM believes that life energy flows throughout the body along energy vessels called meridians. The Chinese call this life energy chi. Sometimes chi is not properly dispensed throughout the body and some parts of the body experience deficient chi. When this energy imbalance happens, disease arises. Factors such as blood and chi deficiency or pathogens caused by cold and wind can cause low back pain. According to TCM, low back pain is often associated with problems in the kidney meridians. With acupuncture problems in the kidney meridians and other affected parts of the back causing low back pain will be properly addressed.
Millions of people in the United States have benefited greatly from acupuncture treatment, especially for the treatment of acute and chronic low back pain. For the resolution of acute low back pain a few to less than 10 sessions are needed while in chronic low back pain cases, treatment duration tends to be longer. Some chronic cases are impossible to cure and acupuncture then is used to help manage their painful symptoms. Acupuncture is also extremely affective for back conditions such as arthritis, stenosis, herniated discs and sciatica.