What happens when acute pain begins to linger and then transforms into a chronic condition? What happens when you’ve exhausted all conventional treatment options, you’ve undergone surgery, you’re on medication, and you’re STILL in pain?
Emotionally, you may begin to feel depressed or frustrated. Your condition may prevent you from getting a full night’s sleep, so now you’re sleep-deprived and irritable. Your relationships may suffer. You may not be able to think clearly and you may experience memory loss.
Chronic pain is ultimately exhausting and negatively impacts your quality of life. If severe enough, it also can negatively affect your spirit and sense of self worth.
Acupuncture is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with a rich history and lineage dating back thousands of years to ancient China. Acupuncture is truly a medical art, as each clinician uses various approaches, techniques and styles to address their patients’ conditions; no two patients are treated the same.
Results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture may help ease types of aches that are often chronic such as low-back stress, neck strain, and osteoarthritis/knee soreness. It also may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches. Therefore, acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncturists have a unique and keen ability to address the patient as a whole. We take a tremendous amount of time assembling a complex jigsaw puzzle; each piece of the puzzle comprises details such as stress levels, bowel movements, response to changes in season, aversion or preference to cold or hot temperatures, menstrual cycle, etc.
Our main goal is to treat the root cause of a patient’s condition. It is not uncommon for my chronic patients to notice improvement in their health, but they also begin noticing side benefits, such as improvement in sleep, mood, mental clarity, and overall improvement in quality of life.
Conventional medicine has begun paying closer attention to acupuncture. It is no longer looked upon as a fad, exotic, or as folk medicine. TCM is rooted in empirical evidence.
Our model of medicine was shaped by thousands of years of clinical experience by ancient Chinese physicians who did not have the technology we have today. Scientists are now working backward to determine exactly why you feel better when I stick small needles into your body! A tremendous amount of data is accumulating to support acupuncture’s complex influence over the body, especially the nervous system.
Your initial appointment with Solaris Health will usually be the longest visit. You’ll undergo a detailed assessment from which a TCM diagnosis is made and appropriate treatment plan is developed. We are trained in various techniques and styles and use these techniques on a patient-by-patient basis.You may experience any one or a combination of TCM techniques for pain management. Traditional acupuncture is the most commonly used and the following techniques are often added to enhance a traditional treatment.