Enjoying your garden, creating your favorite dish, dancing, hula hooping—these are all activities that many of us love to do to feel present and enjoy the moment.

Unfortunately, too many Americans know that their favorite hobbies can become impossible when experiencing unrelenting back pain. One study indicated that one-quarter of adults report chronic low back pain in America alone.

If you are ready to return to your favorite hobbies, acupuncture treatment can help you to manage back pain and return to experiencing joy in your everyday life.

Prior to 2017, patients experiencing non-severe and acute back pain often were prescribed opiates as a single treatment option.

Research Supports Pain Relief of Chronic Low Back Pain with Acupuncture

With current research at the helm, many medical providers now know that there other effective treatment options for acute and chronic low back pain, such as acupuncture. As an integrative health therapy, regular acupuncture treatments effectively treat back pain and can also be added to the usual standard of care.

In terms of returning to regular activities with acupuncture treatment, researchers found that acupuncture “may improve function immediately after sessions”.

Additionally, acupuncture treatment can relieve many other types of chronic pain, including musculoskeletal pain, arthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain. In 2018, the Journal for Pain published an individual patient data meta-analysis of 39 studies with a total of 20,827 patients.

The findings indicated that acupuncture is effective for all types of chronic pain with the effectiveness of treatment continuing over time.

In case you’re curious, acupuncture does have a few minor side effects. Patients may see a small bruise near certain needle insertions, or have a spot of bleeding. However, there are also wonderful adjunct side effects, such as feeling more relaxed and having better sleep.

Reduce Chronic Back Pain Using Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture has a positive effect on the nervous system to support you feeling more rested and relaxed overall and increases the release of a chemical called Adenosine to increase blood flow to the local area for a quicker recovery from injury.

Adenosine also helps us to fall asleep, which is helpful not only for healing injured muscles but for recovering from a lost night’s sleep due to back pain.

During an acupuncture session, you should expect to be evaluated as you would in your physician’s office for pain severity, range of motion tests, and to receive treatment that will allow you to return home with less pain.

Prepare to relax on a massage table after gentle needle insertions in order to relieve back pain. After your treatment, your provider will share a care plan of number of visits expected for lasting improvement, as well as potential stretches, and limits on high intensity activities while you heal.

Additionally, some providers may add topical and/or herbal medicine treatments depending on your needs. If you are missing your garden or your tap shoes, acupuncture can help you manage back pain and provide effective and continued relief.