LOW BACK PAIN

Lower back pain affects at least ninety percent of all people at some point. In fact, it is considered the second reason as to why most people cannot make it to work, with the first reason being the cold. Missing out on work can cause quite a bit of job problems. The actual pain can make it difficult to move throughout the day. Both of those are good reasons to use oriental medicine and acupuncture, as these methods are very effective for lower back pain.

Although there are many conditions that can cause lower back pain, over eighty-five percent of the time the exact trigger is usually unknown. In the perspective of those specializing in oriental medicine, lower back pain means there is an imbalance of Qi (life energy) in the body and should be treated immediately.

There are three types of imbalances that can cause lower back pain, being Stagnation of Qi, Weak Kidney Qi, and Cold Weather.

Stagnation of the Qi occurs along the pathways where life energy travels. When these pathways are blocked, it can cause chronic pain that feels like a stabbing sensation. It usually worsens when the area affected moves and can be tenders to touch.

Weak Kidney Qi causes severe pain in the lower back and especially occurs with kidney deficiencies. This pain is usually dull and is very sporadic. Be sure to get plenty of rest to reduce the chances of it happening.

Cold and damp weather can also cause pain in the lower back and can be improved with heat or movement. When the air is cold, it contracts and stiffens the lower back muscle and gets worse with movement. If the lower back feels numb or swollen the cause is usually linked to the dampness in the air.

Although acupuncture is widely accepted to be a valid treatment for lower back pain, there haven’t been many studies on the subject. This is why doctors in Germany have conducted one and announced their results in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In this study over twelve hundred adults with sever lower back pain were divided up into two groups. One group received acupuncture while the other used standard medications. Reports show that those who received acupuncture had one hundred percent more pain relief than those who took medication. Nearly fifty percent reported a one-third reduction in pain while only thirty percent of those who used conventional methods did.

Another study, conducted by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, researched thirty studies involving more than two thousand people on the subject of acupuncture and lower back pain. They discovered that acupuncture definitely provided pain relief in a shorter time than standard methods of healing.