Managing Chronic Pain
If you are living with chronic pain, you know just how debilitating it can be.
Chronic pain can—and often does—take a serious toll on physical and mental health, lifestyle, and overall wellbeing. Chronic pain can lead to depression, anxiety, and disrupted sleep patterns. It can undermine the ability to work and threaten financial security. And it can interfere with an active social life and even disrupt relationships with family and friends.
Yet chronic pain is often extraordinarily difficult to manage. In fact, chronic pain management continues to be one of the most challenging aspects of medicine today.
Standard treatment for chronic pain today usually revolves around medications. Unfortunately, relying solely on medications can be problematic. Over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc) and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ex.: Advil or Motrin) may not be strong enough to be effective in some cases, and can carry risk of potential health concerns with extended use.
And while pharmaceutical opioids such as OxyContin may have seemed like a “miracle drug” for chronic pain in the early 1990s, it is now quite clear that the use of opioids carries significant and serious health risks including the risk of long-term addiction and lethal overdose.
The good news is that alternative pain management therapies are available today.
Acupuncture and massage therapy can both play a highly effective role in pain management, either as stand-alone treatments or, more commonly, as part of a comprehensive pain management program incorporating multiple types of treatment.
Do Acupuncture and Massage Therapy Really Work for Chronic Pain?
An increasing body of scientific literature now indicates that both acupuncture and massage really can help relieve chronic pain for some people.
Both treatment options have been particularly effective in the treatment of lower back pain, headaches and migraines, nerve pain (especially relating to shingles), fibromyalgia, joint pain due to arthritis, and menstrual cramps.
In addition to helping relieve pain and discomfort, both acupuncture and massage have been shown to be highly effective in improving sleep, reducing feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress, and promoting relaxation. These secondary effects may not have an impact on pain reduction in and of themselves. However, they do help promote mental health and well-being, which can play a critical role in improving your overall quality of life.
How to incorporate massage therapy or acupuncture into a pain management program is unique for each patient. For some, regular massage may seem to work “miracles”; for others, acupuncture may provide effective relief. For some, a combination of both may be most effective.
And of course, these treatment options may not work for every patient, or may work only in conjunction with other, more traditional treatments.
Are Acupuncture and Massage Safe for Patients with Chronic Pain?
Massage and acupuncture may not be appropriate for all patients.
For most people, however, both acupuncture and massage may be safely incorporated into a medical and wellness plan. And most medical experts note that unless otherwise prohibited for a specific reason, both massage and acupuncture are worth trying.
Always speak to your physician and pain management specialist about whether massage or acupuncture, or both, might be appropriate for your comprehensive pain management program.
When exploring massage or acupuncture as a pain management option, be sure to choose your practitioner with care. Both your acupuncturist and your massage therapist should be fully licensed and experienced in specific pain management techniques. It’s ok to schedule consultations with multiple therapists to find the one that you feel the most comfortable with.
And it’s important that you are comfortable discussing your health and wellness concerns openly and honestly, before and during each appointment. The more you communicate about your unique situation, goals, and concerns, the most your therapist(s) will be able to effectively tailor your treatments to meet your needs.
Contact Urban Acupuncture Center in Columbus, OH For More Information
For more information about how acupuncture, massage therapy and other alternative healing treatments can help you, please contact the Urban Acupuncture Center Board Certified Licensed Acupuncturist’s team at Indianola Ave, Clintonville (614) 725-2488 or click here. Taking new patients in and around greater Columbus, Ohio.