Acupuncture and Neck Pain: Is It Really Effective?
About 20 to 70 percent of adults experience neck pain that interferes with their daily life—so often that they seek treatment. Most often, these complaints of neck pain occur frequently. And if you’ve ever experienced acute or chronic neck pain, you understand the annoyance it can bring and the desire to remedy it.
Defining that Pain in the Neck
Stiffness, tightness, aching, burning, stabbing pain, shooting pain, pressure, tingling – these are a few examples of general symptoms of neck pain.
Neck pain is an issue that affects many, many people. While the pain can range from mild to severe, it can be hard to pinpoint the cause. It might come from energy blockages or poor body mechanics. It might come from a car accident or a variety of other reasons.
Treating the Pins and Needles Feeling with a Pin or Needle-Like Instrument
In the past, those who used Western medicine usually took oral anti-inflammatory medications that could have dangerous long-term effects. Many people turn to more natural alternatives found in Eastern medicine, such as acupuncture.
Acupuncture uses extremely fine needles that are gently inserted into the skin’s surface at specific areas of the body. It isn’t as painful as it sounds; most people barely feel them or even see them after their insertion!
What these pin- and needle-like instruments do is promote inner healing. According to a John Hopkins Medicine article, acupuncture points (discrete locations in the body where a needle is inserted) are believed to stimulate the central nervous system, which releases chemicals into the muscles and spinal cord. In turn, these biochemical changes may boost the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.
However, needles in your neck should not be confused with other kinds of hands that come to mind. Acupuncture releases blocked energy, allowing your body to heal. Many symptoms are relieved by this method; however, everyone is different. This ancient Chinese practice targets specific body areas where you may feel pain.
This method is proven effective for treating and relieving pain caused by neck injuries by the World Health Organization (WHO). Many patients found more flexibility and less pain by removing stress on the spine.
Does Acupuncture Treat the DIfferent Kinds of Neck Pain?
Two kinds of neck pain are chronic (long-term) and acute (short-term). Acupuncture treats both in the following manners:
- Acute: If you experience sudden, intense pain in one area of your body, you are suffering from a medical condition known as acute pain. Acute neck pain is often caused by an injury, such as sleeping with poor posture or receiving a hit to the neck during an accident with a motor vehicle.
Treating acute neck pain with acupuncture can prevent it from becoming a chronic condition and allow for healing, improving flexibility and mobility, and eliminating pain without prescribed medications.
- Chronic: Chronic pain can last longer than six months and can be described as continuing pain throughout the body. A study completed and published in the Journal of Pain regarding the effects of acupuncture on chronic pain finalised that “acupuncture was beneficial in treating chronic pain, with treatment persisting over time” and that “acupuncture was superior to sham as well as no acupuncture control for each pain condition”.
The patients in this study who suffered from chronic neck pain found relief.
Get Rid of that Pain in Your Neck with Acupuncture
Are you experiencing symptoms of acute or chronic neck pain? Speak to a trained acupuncturist today and try this effective method from the Far East. It may just surprise you with its instantaneous, natural way of healing!
Get acupuncture in Alloa, Callander, Cumbernauld, Falkirk, Linlithgow, Stirling, and Dunfermline by contacting me at Ruth McWilliam Acupuncture! I’m a registered nurse, a member of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, and the only acupuncture practitioner in the Forth Valley area with a registered practice in the Healthcare Improvement Scotland. I offer mobile treatment services, treating you from your own home.