Acupuncture is effective for back pain

September 15th, 2006

I have been fascinated with acupuncture for quite a while. Being used to conventional medical practises and knowledge, I find it fascinating that strategically placed needles can have such a beneficial affect on so many conditions, which shows that there are energy flows and processes occurring in the body that conventional medicine cannot detect or influence.

Research and a cost benefit analysis by the UK health service - the NHS - has shown that acupuncture can be an effective treatment for back pain. Importantly too, in this age of cost justifications and quality of live calculations, acupuncture has been shown to be both medically effective as well as an economically viable, treatment.

I’ve suffered from a back injury so I know how debilitating back pain can be. A few years ago I trapped a nerve whilst having a “race” with someone on rowing machines at the gym. Taken to the local hospital in an ambulance, I was treated with strong pain killers and anti-inflammatories and basically told to go away until it got better.

I would have welcomed the opportunity to ease my back pain with a visit to the Acupuncturist. I would probably have recovered from my injury far more quickly, as re-gaining my mobilty, through pain management, freed the trapped nerve.

That acupuncture could be soon be generally available within our health service is good news for those suffereing from back problems. It will also help increase awareness of the more respectable alternative treatments and therapies that could be used alongside conventional medicine.

Entry Filed under: Health Issues