Friday, July 30, 2010
I often hear commercials on the radio talking about the latest
medical breakthroughs to treat back-pain: Decompression therapy,
non-steroidal injections, laser-surgery.... the list goes on. These
latest "breakthroughs" are in response to recent findings that
traditional back surgery (discectomies, spinal-fusion therapies) doesn't
necessarily improve pain. While listening to these commercials, I find
it fascinating that none of them mention acupuncture.
At least 50% of my patients originally come to me for back pain.
While the underlying reasons for their pain may vary, I'd say my
success rate in either completely eliminating or vastly relieving their
back pain is around 90%. The most recent example is of a gentleman in
his late 20's who arrived at my clinic needing a cane to walk. After
having back surgery 2 years ago to address a disc herniation, his pain
returned with such intensity it left him unable to even get out of his
car without assistance and was leaning heavily on a cane to walk into my
office. He was extremely skeptical about acupuncture, but was willing
to try "anything". After his first treatment, he no longer needed his
cane. He was completely speechless how much better he felt after the
treatment. After his second treatment, he is walking almost completely
normal; no cane, no lean, and no drugs. Is there a secret formula or
technique I"m using to treat back-pain? Not really. While I think I'm
good at what I do, this story is more to demonstrate simply how powerful
and effective acupuncture is in eliminating back pain. Additional
information on back pain can be found through my recently published
article HERE.
So, if you are struggling with back-pain, try acupuncture. It's a
safe treatment that has been proven to work for the past 4000 years.
Honestly, what other medicine has such a long and successful track
record?
----------------------------------------------------
Craig Amrine, L.Ac., is a licensed acupuncturist and can be reached through his website at www.hiddenrhythmacupuncture.com.