"My back felt much better immediately and I have continued to come for maintenance...My back has never felt so great for so long."

Acupuncture for Pain Management

Over 31 million people experience lower back pain in the US at any given time. And at some point in time, just about everyone will experience tension headaches as well as pain in the neck shoulders, and knees because of the sedentary lifestyle we live sitting in front of our computers all day. 

New Yorkers lead stressful and tense lives. It is estimated that 75% of the population is experiencing some sort of pain condition like sciatica. 

Acupuncture before surgery means less pain and significantly fewer opioids for Veterans. New studies using battlefield acupuncture show a faster recovery, meaning acupuncture for pain management can help with the opioid crisis.

Finding a pain management specialist to help with healing your pain condition can be a challenge and you want to find the right treatment options and the best way to relieve your pain and restore your mobility. This is especially true when getting acupuncture for pain management.

Is acupuncture effective for back pain?

Acupuncture is one of the most effective ways to treat pain conditions like lower back pain and sciatica because it not only addresses the symptoms of pain but also supports the body's natural healing abilities. According to an NIH study, one of the crucial benefits of acupuncture is that it can facilitate the release of certain neuropeptides in the central nervous system (CNS), eliciting profound physiological effects and even activating self-healing mechanisms.  

Conventional treatments for pain, such as painkillers, opioids, surgery, and physical therapy, only go so far. They may “fix” the symptom by addressing the part of the body that is in pain but the benefits of these treatments are limited because they fail to address the whole person and resolve the underlying cause of their pain. 

Long after an initial injury occurs, acupuncture treatments can relieve pain, increase blood flow to the area, and improve mobility and stability. Increasing circulation helps to flush out the lactic acid and other metabolic waste that can cause inflammation, pain, and stiffness. Working with an acupuncturist with expertise in pain management can address the lingering 20-25% of an injury that has not fully healed, restoring the structural efficiency back to the body.

Can acupuncture help treat headaches and migraines?

Pain conditions such as chronic headaches and migraines need consistent treatment and maintenance. These conditions tend to have several underlying causes such as life circumstances, stress, emotions, diet, gender, and other health conditions that are specific to that individual. \

This is what makes acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine so effective — because they address the underlying factors that are contributing to the painful condition naturally!

How often should you get acupuncture for pain management?

This is a great question, and the answer is, it depends. 

Acupuncture works in a series of treatments. You can never have treatments too close together, but you can have them spread too far apart. Acupuncture works cumulatively, and we want to continue treatments to build your progress so you can feel as good as you did before started to experience pain.

We all lead very active lifestyles and, naturally, injuries can occur when too much strain is put on our bodies. For the most part, when this happens, if we don’t fully heal the injury in the first place, if we keep going, “working through” the pain, or even worse ignore it, then we set ourselves up for more serious or complicated problems later on.

Months or years after the fact, you may still have a “bad knee” or a “bad back” — an old injury that acts up from time to time. Lingering pain is your body’s way of telling you that it has not fully healed and that there is weakness.

Acupuncture improves strength and increases range of motion

Acupuncture activates the muscles by stimulating the proprioceptive reflexes, the communication of nerve fibers with the muscles. Improving the nerve-to-muscle response leads to better coordination and muscle strength. This translates to enhanced physical performance.

Acupuncture increases blood flow and improves circulation

Even the most active individuals in this modern age often spend long hours every day sitting in front of a computer, reducing the circulation and blood flow in the body.

Sitting for long periods of time shortens muscles and starves the body of nutrient and oxygen-rich blood. 

Acupuncture works by increasing blood and lymph flow to muscle tissues throughout the body, relieving the pain associated with modern life, and reducing the risk of injury when you hit the gym after work.

Acupuncture facilitates a speedy recovery from injury, and regular treatments can prevent injuries from happening in the first place. Ask us about our massage therapy, too, to keep your muscles strong and supple.

Restoration

Overdid it at the gym? Struggling to cope with lingering muscle pain? Want to take your training to the next level? 

Acupuncture helps to clean up tissue-damaging free radicals and stimulate the autonomic nervous system, enabling the body to enter deep relaxation and a natural “healing state”. In this state, the body produces growth hormones necessary for muscle and tissue repair. Acupuncture provides a full-body "reset" so that you can train more effectively and without injury.

Stress relief

While everyone experiences some level of stress, excessive stress can be damaging physically and psychologically.

For athletes, the loss of focus and drive caused by stress can lead to physical injury. Acupuncture relieves stress by enhancing mind-body awareness and facilitating complete relaxation and rejuvenation. 

Mind-body awareness helps you to achieve personal and professional success and, for serious competitors, can be the difference between an amateur and a professional athlete.

Sports Medicine Acupuncture®

Athletes, or simply anyone who wants to lead a more active lifestyle, are great candidates for Sports Medicine Acupuncture®. 

Professional teams and Olympic athletes in New York and around the world rely on our clinic’s acupuncture for pain management program to enhance their performance and treat sports-related injuries. Acupuncture facilitates a speedy recovery from injury, and regular treatments can prevent injuries from happening in the first place.

Maintaining your physical well-being is especially important in a big city like New York, where people are constantly on the go, working, walking, biking, running for the train, and meeting friends. It’s easy to lead an athletic lifestyle without even trying! Whether you’re a professional athlete in serious training, a weekend warrior, or an active person, sports medicine acupuncture can help you.