Pain Management
Are you suffering from pain? Sport injury, accidents, degeneration, poor posture, too much sitting, poor circulation and hormonal imbalance are some of the common causes of pain. Some of the management strategies include pain killers, cortisone injection, muscle relaxants and surgeries. While it is important to stop the pain, it is beneficial to address the root of the problem in order to minimise damage and strengthen the body thus preventing pain from coming back. A Traditional Chinese Medicine saying goes, ‘where there is a blockage, there is pain’. A blockage is commonly due to stagnation of Qi (Vital Energy) and Blood, deficiency of Qi and Blood and deficiency of the Kidney system.
Research
A systematic review (Ref: 1) was conducted at JAMA Internal Medicine in 2012 to look at multiple randomised controlled trials of acupuncture for chronic pain of a total of 17922 patients. Acupuncture was found to be effective for treating back and neck pain, osteoarthritis and headache.
Another review (Ref: 2) was conducted at US National Library of Medicine to look at 60 randomised controlled trials of women with primary dysmenorrhoea or menstrual pain. The study concluded that acupuncture might reduce menstrual pain and associated symptoms more effectively than no treatment or NSAIDs.
A randomised controlled trial of acupuncture for women with fibromyalgia in Oregon was published in Pain Medicine journal (Ref: 3). Compared with education, group acupuncture improved pain and fatigue. It was a safe and well-tolerated treatment option.
References
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1357513?fbclid=IwAR1cCXJtHI6vONq7f97rsaH2_9knM-k-_aD9G1eE_8oh0U2rfxnwhAGN6oI)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29879061
- https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/article/19/9/1862/4856005
