Is life a pain in the neck?

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which provides the majority of clinical guidelines for GPs across the UK, now recognises acupuncture as a viable treatment form for non-specific lower back pain. 

But how does acupuncture help treat lower back pain? And can it help with any other forms of pain? 

I've been working as an acupuncturist for over 6 years. I've had my own private practice, I've been a tutor at the college where I trained and I have practised acupuncture on cruise ships, working alongside highly skilled teams of sports therapists, physios and chiropractors. I have gathered as much information as I can with regards to treating pain, both from a Chinese health perspective and a Western health perspective and continue to do so. 

I have literally treated hundreds people who suffer with pain. 

All kinds of pain. 

Headaches. Migraines. Neck pain. Shoulder tension. Frozen shoulder. Tennis elbow. Golfers elbow. Repetitive Strain Injury. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Upper back pain. Lower back pain. Sciatica. Bursitis. Knee pain. Osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis. Ankle pain. Plantar fasciitis. 

I could spend a whole day talking about all these different conditions and how I work with them, but unfortunately, neither you nor I has all day! So let's focus in on one particular complaint that almost everyone is familiar with: MUSCULAR TENSION. The cause behind the majority of neck, shoulder and lower back pain. 

Now I have to be honest, I know for you poor people out there muscular pain is horrid. It slows you down, it makes you irritable, it distracts you from your work, your family, your life, it restricts you. I, on the other hand, LOVE IT. I love it because I know I can fix it! Quickly and effectively. It is one of my favourite things to treat. 

You probably all know what muscular pain is, but for the sake of argument, let's briefly touch on some of the different types of muscular pain you can get. 

You can an ACUTE MUSCULAR INJURY. Generally brought about through a sports injury, or lifting something heavy, the muscle gets a small tear and to heal it LOCKS UP. There is STIFFNESS, sometimes SWELLING, and is normally very TENDER. 

Generalised muscular pain can present in a FIXED LOCATION. It can be DULL and ACHY and it generally FEELS BETTER FOR PRESSURE. 

You can also get RADIATING PAIN.  Often confused as a trapped nerve, this is actually what is known as a TRIGGER POINT in a muscle which causes pain to radiate to another part of the body. These are generally TENDER to palpate and can be exacerbated on touch. 

So how do I deal with these different types of muscular pain? 

First let's look at MUSCULAR INJURIES. Before I can administer any acupuncture or massage the SWELLING needs to be dealt with. ELEVATE and ICE the injury until the swelling reduces. It may still feel tender to touch, but nothing can be done until the swelling goes down. Once the swelling is reduced, you may find the injury clears up with REST. If after two or three days there is still a lot of pain present that is the time to seek some help. 

Acupuncture on MUSCULAR INJURIES is as gentle as possible. Ultra-fine needles are used to RELEASE THE KNOTS and promote the flow of blood and Qi (energy) to the affected area.

DULL, ACHY, MUSCULAR PAIN is dealt with in a slightly different manner. The affected area is needled which will elicit a response similar to a feeling of PRESSURE, but other points may be administered to boost your Qi as a whole and often MASSAGE techniques are used after treatment. 

RADIATING PAIN. My favourite! Working with TRIGGER POINTS is something not all acupuncturists do, but it is one technique I have learnt and use it to great effect. First the trigger point needs to be LOCATED. It is then needled which will cause the muscle to JUMP. We call this a MYOFASCIAL RELEASE. This means the fascia that surrounds the muscle relaxes, which releases the knot and REALIGNS THE MUSCLE FIBRES. Quite often the sensation from the needle is felt elsewhere and then these places are needled and released. 

The radiating sensation found in TRIGGER POINTS often correspond to the MERIDIANS (energetic pathways which channel your Qi) found in Chinese Medicine. There is actually recent research to show that the FASCIAL PLANES (the areas of connective tissue found in the body- muscular surrounds, tendons and ligaments etc.) are almost exactly the same as the meridians, which shows that needling the FASCIA in one area can relieve muscular tension elsewhere on the plane/meridian. For example, the REAR FASCIAL PLANE corresponds to the BLADDER MERIDIAN which starts in the medial corner of your eyes, runs over the top of your head and down either side of spine, into your buttocks and down the backs of legs and into your feet. 

In all cases it is important to REST after treatment and DRINK PLENTY OF WATER to allow the muscles to settle down and aid the healing process. Often the area will feel sore after treatment for about 24-48 hours, but a different kind of soreness to the initial pain. Once this settles, that is when you get a significant improvement. 

So that's a very brief introduction into how acupuncture works with muscular pain and how I work as a practitioner. 

And because it is so effective at helping treat muscular pain, this is why NICE recommend it to help treat lower back pain. 

Wishing you the very best in health and happiness