Acupuncture for Pain Management – Introduction

Pain management is a branch of medicine that uses interdisciplinary approach to better the quality of life for those who are suffering from chronic pain. Due to the nature of the medicine in this country, medication is the primary way to manage pain. However, I personally believe that acupuncture is one of the better way to manage pain. Side effect from acupuncture is minimum, and there are many benefits from acupuncture treatment in addition to pain management.  New England School of Acupuncture and Tufts University School of Medicine have a joint pain management program. Here is the link to that program.

Pain is our warming signal that something is happening in our body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, when something is not flowing smoothly, or when something is blocked, there is pain. Imagine that our body is just like our home. When everything is working in order and organized, we feel comfortable and enjoy the stay. Say, life is busy and we do not have time to maintain the neatness of the house. One day, we found that the toilet is clogged and we can not use the toilet. Then we suddenly realize that there are dusts everywhere. Then, our home is not as welcoming as when it’s nice and clean. In this case, the clogged toilet is the warming pain, and everything that comes with clogged toilet is the discomfort that we feel from the pain.

Similar story happens to many of my patients. Many of them come in with a recent onset of pain, and as we discuss deeper during the intake process, the patients realize that there are many other issues. Sometimes, patients might event tell me that something else hurts at the end of the treatment when the acute issues is resolved.

Acupuncture treatment can be consider as the plumber, electrician, house cleaner, and etc. for our body. There are various technique from acupuncture that can help regulate and smooth the flow of energy (Some people call the energy “Qi” or “Chi”, but I will just call it energy here.) and unblock the blockage. One thing that is unique to acupuncture is that acupuncture works with both physically body and energy body. It means that acupuncturist not only can treat the pain locally by inserting the needle locally around the site of pain, but also work with the energy in the whole body to make sure that energy is flowing as designed. In other words, if our body is a computer, acupuncture is the medical treatment that can work with both hardware and software.

For those with any kind of pain, I highly recommend visiting your local acupuncturist, and you might be surprised with what you feel after the treatment! Of course, if you are local in Boston area, you are more than welcome to come visit my clinic. Here is the link to schedule an appointment.