Spinal discs play a crucial role in the lower back, serving as shock absorbers between the vertebrae, supporting the upper body, and allowing a wide range of movement in all directions. If a disc herniates and leaks some of its inner material, though, the disc can quickly go from easing daily life to aggravating a nerve, triggering back pain and possibly pain and nerve symptoms down the leg.
The goal of medical treatments is to reduce pain, but these treatments do not change the underlying source of pain. A doctor will typically prescribe medical treatments alongside a physical therapy program or another regimen.
Age, poor posture, and injury weaken spinal discs, causing cracks or tears to develop in the disc wall over time. Because spinal discs are filled with small nerve endings, these tears can develop into sources of chronic back pain in many patients. The adult disc has a limited blood supply, and therefore poor inherent healing potential. Conventional treatments for degenerated discs, which include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and spinal fusion surgery, are often not effective in the long-term and can come with complications.
If you only compared dry needling and acupuncture with a photo, you might be stumped to identify each. Both acupuncture and dry needling use thin, stainless steel needles. For both practices, needles are inserted into the skin and both also claim to treat pain. That’s where the similarities end. Unique qualities help differentiate the two. One practice has been used for thousands of years as an alternative treatment and has some solid research of effectiveness. The other’s been adopted in the last couple of decades.
Many treatment options for low back pain can be tailored to an individual patient’s needs. Treatments include care administered at home, medicinal remedies, alternative care, or even surgery. Depending on the patient’s diagnosis, some treatments may be more effective than others. Many people find that a combination of treatments is best.
Spinal discs degenerate for a variety of reasons. Cells within a disc can die naturally as we age, but the process is generally exacerbated by genetics, obesity, and smoking. Traditional treatment for lumbar degenerative disc disease includes over-the-counter pain and anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, spinal mobilization, and surgery. However, the use of stem cells as a treatment has been rapidly gaining popularity.
Acupuncture is a complementary therapy that’s a part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It originated in China and has been around for over 2,500 years. It’s a technique used to balance the flow of energy, also known as life force, chi, or qi. Qi is thought to flow through pathways in your body. The goal of acupuncture is to remove energy blockages and balance your energy flow, which helps to regulate your emotional, mental, and physical health.
Obtaining an accurate diagnosis that identifies the underlying cause of the pain, and doesn’t just correlate to the symptoms, is important in guiding treatment. As a foundation of the diagnostic process, the patient provides a detailed description of symptoms and medical history. From this information, a doctor will usually have a general idea of the source of the patient’s pain.
Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of low back and neck pain, and also one of the most misunderstood. Simply put, degenerative disc disease refers to symptoms of back or neck pain caused by wear-and-tear on a spinal disc. In some cases, degenerative disc disease also causes weakness, numbness, and hot, shooting pains in the arms or legs (radicular pain). Degenerative disc disease typically consists of a low-level chronic pain with intermittent episodes of more severe pain.
Acupuncture is a type of Chinese traditional medicine that dates back thousands of years. Acupuncturists use fine needles in pressure points in various parts of the body. This treatment is said to: Reduce inflammation, Relax the body, Increase blood flow.
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