Can Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine Help Pain?
Pain is described as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage” by the International Association for the Study of Pain. Essentially, pain is meant to be our body’s warning signal of damage or threat of damage, but sometimes this mechanism can get out of hand and make our lives a misery.
Different types of pain include:
- Acute injury - like when you roll your ankle or break a bone
- Chronic pain - when pain continues for longer than 3 months it is considered chronic, like someone with long term back pain or headaches
- Auto-immune inflammatory pain - like rheumatoid arthritis where the body attacks itself, usually in joints, causing inflammation, tissue damage and pain
- Organ pain - like appendicitis, kidney stones, pain from IBS
- Cancer pain - as a side effect of treatment in cancer patients
- Emotional pain - chronic pain is often associated with higher rates of depression and each can exacerbate the other
The most common approach in the treatment of pain is through various medications such analgesics and anesthetics, as well as physical therapy and in some cases psychological support.
Considering the current issues with addiction to opioid pain medication and the difficulty with managing medications, acupuncture may add another tool in the arsenal against pain.
How Can Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine Help Pain?
From a Chinese medicine perspective, your body has an amazing ability to heal and recover provided the right stimulus. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have both been used over thousands of years to relieve pain and pain related symptoms. We combine both the traditional theories and treatments, with a modern understanding of the body in our clinic.
When you come in for treatment at Village Remedies Balmain, Sydney, our approach is to determine the key causative factors behind your pain and help support your body’s natural ability to heal, recover and be out of pain. To find out if we can help with your pain, please contact us or book online.
