Why You Should Use Acupuncture to Cure Back Pain

Why You Should Use Acupuncture to Cure Back Pain

Traditional acupuncture has been used for over 2,000 years to alleviate back pain and acupuncturists have for many many years been successfully treating patients for this condition either in private practice or working within conventional medicine.

In the UK:

The UK's NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) organisation has drawn up guidelines recommending that acupuncture be made available on the NHS (National Health Service) for chronic lower back pain. The guidelines on best practice now recommend that GPs offer a course of 10 sessions of acupuncture as a first line treatment for persistent, non-specific low back pain.

This means NICE's guidelines are effectively an endorsement of the wealth of research evidence now available in this area.

What is the extent of the problem?

According to the NHS, back pain affects more than 1.1 million people in the UK with 95% of patients suffering from problem associated with it. This costs the NHS and associated services more than £1 billion each year. Recent research by HTA Spotlight (Acupuncture for back pain) has shown that acupuncture treatment can be effective in treating back pain and introducing acupuncture treatment on the NHS can be very beneficial for patients who are suffering from the one of the nation's main reasons (according to the NHS) for work-related sickness absence.

Research shows that Acupuncture for back pain:

Is as good as or better than conventional medical care
Helps patients that want to avoid taking pain relieving drugs
Is useful in tandem with conventional treatment for it during pregnancy
Is useful in tandem with conventional treatment for it in the work place

5 ways Acupuncture for back pain helps:

It reduces pain. It does this by stimulating nerves in muscles and other tissues which in turn causes endorphins to be released. These are the body's natural pain killers.
It reduces inflammation by promoting the release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors.
It reduces muscle stiffness and joint mobility. It does this by increasing the circulation in the immediate area. This helps to disperse both swelling and bruising.
By doing all the above it reduces the amount of medication required for the pain.
It keeps the accountants happy as well. It has been proven to be more cost effective than conventional treatment when carried out over a longer period of time. In fact, it has also been proven that it improves the outcome of conventional treatments if it is used in conjunction with it.

How can you choose an acupuncturist to treat you?

It is essential for patients to choose an acupuncturist who is registered with a professional body. In the UK, The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) members have extensive undergraduate degree level training in acupuncture and biomedical sciences appropriate to the practice of acupuncture in the UK. They are bound by strict codes of ethics, and safe practice and professional conduct.

You should then look for information about the clinic your planned acupuncturist is practising in. A good example of the information you should be looking for is the Morley Acupuncture Clinic page on the Pagoda Acupuncture website.

This gives information about the clinic, the acupuncturist at the clinic (myself in this case), links to testimonials for the acupuncturist, how to get to the clinic and facilities nearby the clinic that might be useful to a patient. This is the level of detail you should expect.

By ensuring your acupuncturist is registdred and the clinic meets your expectations you can be pretty sure that you will get a professional, effective and pleasurable treatment.

Iain Lettice is a full member of The British Acupuncture Council. He graduated top in his year from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BSc (Hons) Acupuncture degree.

You can find Iain on the Pagoda Acupuncture website which currently lists Acupuncture Clinics in the UK. The Pagoda Acupuncture website has been created by Iain to help all registered Acupuncturists get on line when they don't have the funds or expertise to do so. Please contact Iain via the website if you would like to be found on it.