Treating Back Pain with Acupuncture
There it is again, that dull achy feeling you get in your lower back each time you make a twisting, bending, or really any motion associated with your day to day activities. Do you need to take another painkiller to deal with the discomfort, or do you want to remain clear headed and choose to stick it out through the rest of the day? For nearly 8 out of every 10 Americans, this real life example of chronic low back pain probably hit a little closer to home than you would have liked.
Chronic low back pain is the result of a combination of factors, the largest contributors being a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, and a poor posture while seated. The amount of time Americans spend sitting behind a desk or enjoying the television on the couch is staggering. It’s not usually until you take a really good look at your daily activities that you see how little many of us actually move regularly. Combine this with a near constant seated position and you’re well on your way to developing some fairly serious muscle imbalances. Muscle imbalances occur when opposing muscle groups (Such as your hamstrings, and your quadriceps) stay in a non-neutral position for extended periods of time.
The body’s natural state is viewed as being standing completely upright, with your arms by your side and palms facing forwards. While maintaining a seated position, we can see that the back of your thighs, your hamstrings, are stretched out father than usual, while the front of your thighs, your quadriceps, are in a flexed or compressed state. Over time, this stretching and compression of the leg muscles actually begins to alter their composition, making them more likely to view this seated position as the neutral state. While it’s worth pointing out that correctly prescribed regular exercise is enough to keep these muscle imbalances at bay, most American’s do not engage in regular exercise, or engage in exercise that is counter-productive to their fitness goals. It’s this combination of the lack of exercise and a lifestyle that forces us into being sedentary for long periods of the day that results in such high incidences of chronic low back pain.
So just how exactly can we counter this chronic back pain epidemic? Lifestyle changes such as being cognitive of your posture and regular exercise have proven to be effective in the long run, but many of us do not have ability to make these required changes. Luckily, there is a short term relief for your chronic low back pain that can be administered much more quickly than exercise. Acupuncture works to release endorphins, the body’s natural pain killer, to relieve your low back pain by inserting small, sterile needles into your body’s many energy pathways. These endorphins, once released, can induce a positive feeling, naturally without the use of drugs, alcohol or medication.
Want to learn more about how Acupuncture can help to relieve your chronic low back pain? Contact our team of qualified Acupuncturists and schedule a consultation to see if Acupuncture is right for you!