In my practice, I see a lot of back pain patients. Acupuncture is something well known to relieve pain, particularly for musculoskeletal pain related lower back pain.(1)
Take for instance, lower back pain. Acupuncture, as part of Chinese medicine has its own understanding of the cause of back pain. Back pain can be caused by:
1) EXTERNAL PATHOGENS (Xie Qi) – one of six pathogens can invade the body to cause a blockage of Qi (Energy) which then causes pain. Dampness, heat, cold, wind, dryness and summerheat are the six pathogens, however with back pain it’s mainly caused by a combination of wind, cold and/or dampness.
2) INJURIES and TRAUMA – for example over-exercising leading to a “pulled muscle” or inflammation, overuse or overstain of muscles from lifting heavy things or poor posture and work related overuse can all fit into this category. Also includes if you were in an accident, suffering trauma to the body from an outside force.
3) INERNAL CAUSES – Diet, Lifestyle.
It’s easier to imagine the first two causes, and perhaps less-so the third mentioned cause of back pain diet and lifestyle. Lifestyle can include things like poor posture – hunching over too much, not enough exercise or movement in relation to the amount of sitting or resting that one’s body does.
Diet is not usually a DIRECT cause of back pain, however I would say its quite important in the long term recovery of chronic back pain.
WHY DIET? In Chinese medicine there are only two ways the body can make Qi(Energy) and Blood (Xue) – breathing and digestion. For optimal healing we need to ensure our body can recover.
Ensuring smooth digestive process starts with a warm, moist, cooked diet (If your not sure about this see my video on diet here).
Specific foods can be used to “tonify Blood”. Good quality Blood in Chinese Medicine is necessary for healing to take place. Foods like most meats, bone broths, spinach, Go Ji Berries, Gelatin, organ meats are particularly good Blood Tonics.
Your practitioner of Chinese Medicine can advise you exactly what foods you should and shouldn’t eat to optimise your healing.
Lifestyle includes a balance of the 4 areas Chinese medicine identifies as important: DIET / REST (SLEEP) & RELAXATION / EXERCISE / WORK. Sleep is identified as important for healing in many medical systems including biomedicine.
The point ? Chinese medicine practitioners are interested in your whole body. Interested in optimising the healing of your body, promoting longevity and preventing further illness and disharmony. Chinese medicine style Acupuncture is far more than sticking needles in. It’s the holistic approach which promotes short course of treatment with long term results in mind.
References:
- Lam M, Galvin R, Curry P. Effectiveness of acupuncture for nonspecific chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2013 Nov 15;38(24):2124-38.