Acupuncture and Pain

Acupuncture and Pain 

So many people are plagued with pain. According to a national survey, more than one-quarter of adults in the U.S. experience pain lasting more than a day. It is the number one reason Americans seek medical care. It is also one of the leading causes of disability, and billions of dollars per year are spent on associated costs to control it. It reportedly affects more Americans than the "major three" - diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease - combined.

Most people complain that they hurt so badly, they feel there's no choice but to take pain medications. Most don't want to. They don't like feeling groggy, irritable and drugged-up. They don't like the side effects, nor the possibility for addiction, but what else is there to do?

Acupuncture. Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years because it works. According to the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), acupuncture is used for a variety of types of pain - back, joint, neck pain and headache or migraine being the most common.

But it works for many other areas of pain, as well. Sciatica, shingles, Tic Douloureux (aka Trigeminal Neuralgia), peripheral neuralgia (many types of neuralgia), knee pain, tennis elbow, sprains and strains. The list of types of pain that acupuncture has been effective in alleviating is much more extensive than just that.

Arthritis, osteo-arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are commonly treated by acupuncture. Fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel, many kinds of facial pain, and even menstrual pain and cramps, post-operative dental pain and pain following any kind of surgery commonly utilize acupuncture to control or resolve pain.

According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, an estimated 3.1 million Americans used acupuncture within that year. They found that seven of the 10 reasons people sought acupuncture was for pain.

Acupuncture, though commonly used for musculo-skeletal types of pain, is also used for internal types of pain. Examples involve the digestive system: Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, IBS, and pain from heartburn or reflux. They are naturally responsive to acupuncture, as well.

People are frequently worried about trying acupuncture because they are afraid that it might be...well...painful! The most common response I get when people finally decide they've had enough, that the pain is affecting their lives too much and they finally try acupuncture, is, "Oh my gosh! If I had any idea how painless this was, I would have been here eons ago!"

Acupuncture has withstood the test of time. Its effectiveness now is no different than it was a few thousand years ago. Except a thousand years ago with the ancient needles they used - well, just be glad we only use hair-thin ones today!

Acupuncture for pain? You bet! It is one of the most effective ways to eliminate pain, whatever the source.

Source of story is here.