Treating Pain with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

There are many approaches to treating pain. Even within the acupuncture and Chinese Medicine methods, there are various philosophies for treating pain. 

Generally, when someone has pain, there’s an area that acupuncturists call the "sick channels” or meridians. This is where the pain is located or where problems with normal body functioning exist.  There are other areas of the body called the "balancing channels” (also meridians), which often are on opposite sides of the body. 

One effective treatment approach practiced by many acupuncturists is the Dr. Tan Balance method, which treats an opposite area to the location of pain or injury.

If you watched the 2008 Olympics in China, you may have noticed an acupuncturist treating an injured athlete: For a knee injury, the opposite elbow was treated to relieve pain. Many people are surprised when pain is relieved without doing any points in the area where the pain exists. 

This treatment can work for almost any type of pain: Low back, neck, joints, pinched nerves, tendonitis, headaches, shingles, digestive, sinus, and many more types of pain.  The number of acupuncture treatments depends on how long the person has had the pain and the individual’s general health. 

China’s healthcare system allows people to receive daily acupuncture treatments, which are tapered down as an individual’s health improves.  When we treat people who have pain, we usually recommend two to three treatment sessions each week, depending on how bad the pain is and how often the individual is able to come in. Then, as a person begins to feel better, we space the treatments further apart.   

Diet is another factor: Many people don’t realize their nutrition is tied to their pain, but it often is. For example, damp foods – dairy, sugar, and white flour – may block the body’s energy flow and may affect already-weakened energy channels, which can manifest as pain.

If you are experiencing pain of any kind, consider acupuncture treatment.

Written by Alexia Bennetts, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac. - a founder & acupuncturist here at Calm Spirit.