Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management
It is so good to be back home in Sacramento after two and a half years in the Palm Springs Area. One of my reasons for this good feeling is that once again I have access to the best Acupuncturist I have ever encountered in my 26 years of living with chronic pain. His name is Miles Roberts and his practice is in Carmichael California just a little north of Sacramento. I’ve already had two sessions with him and I am so grateful for his help. As a result I wanted to write a little about acupuncture in my blog today.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago, acupuncture became better known in the United States in 1971, when New York Times reporter James Reston wrote about how doctors in China used needles to ease his pain after surgery. The term acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques.
The acupuncture technique that has been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation. Acupuncture is often effective in managing certain types of pain; It stimulates the large and small nerve fibers that inhibit pain signaling; and may produce a placebo effect through the release of endorphins and enkephalins. Acupuncture is often used in the treatment of back pain, minor surgery, and other pain conditions.
Research indicates there are areas where acupuncture interventions are very useful. For example, promising results have emerged showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low-back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or as part of a comprehensive management program or even an acceptable treatment alternative.
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