Acute or Chronic Pain
What is Pain?
What is the Western Treatment Methods for Pain?
What is the Treatment of Pain in Traditional Chinese Medicine?
What is Pain?
There are two primary types of pain, acute or chronic pain. Acute pain is defined as pain that is created by inflammation, tissue damage, injury, illness or recent surgery, often accompanies by redness, increased local temperature and swelling. Acute pain usually ends after the underlying cause is treated or has been resolved. Chronic pain persists for weeks, months or years. It overwhelms all other symptoms and may become the problem in and of itself. Therefore the most effective treatment includes not only relief of symptoms, but balancing the entire body.
What is the Western Treatment Methods for Pain?
In western medicine, treatment for chronic pain may include any or a combination of the following:
•Over-the-counter (OTC) medications.
•Heat and Cold treatments.
•Prescription Pain Medications.
•Prescription antidepressants.
•Local electrical stimulation.
•Psychological treatment.
•Surgery.
What is the Treatment of Pain in Traditional Chinese Medicine?
“When there is pain,” there is a blockage in the meridian. Based on an in-dept history, examination, which includes tongue diagnosis and pulse diagnosis, I determine where the energy is blocked and choose points along the energy channels which are affected, or related to the area and cause of the pain. Using a combination of local points and distal points, the treatments help to remove the blockage of energy and promote the blood flow in the body.
This allows for free flow and reduces or eliminates the pain. In addition, acupuncture has been shown in studies to increase your body’s natural production of endorphins, which are your system’s natural pain killers. Acupuncture, tui na and herbal applications work to stimulate the central nervous system, which in turn releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain. These chemicals either alter the perception of pain or release other chemicals that influence the body’s self-regulating systems. These biochemical changes support the body’s natural healing abilities, improve circulation, and promote physical and emotional well-being. When circulation in the tissue improves, muscle relaxation occurs and pain is reduced. In some cases, improved circulation may cause the pain to increase, but this is followed by accelerated repair of the tissue. Proper circulation is important not only for the blood to nourish the tissue, but also for eliminating muscle fatigue and pain-causing substances such as lactic acid.
In 1997, the National Institutes of Health (U.S.) officially recognized acupuncture as an effective treatment for pain. According to the 1997 NIH panel, clinical studies showed that acupuncture therapy is helpful in treating many types of chronic pain, including headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, neck pain, low back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome. Recent studies also suggest that topical herbal compounds like those used in Traditional Chinese Medicine are very effective for reducing chronic pain.
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