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How Can Acupuncture Help Neck Pain?
Neck pain can be very common. In fact, one study found that 22% of people experience some type of neck pain. Neck pain can have a variety of causes. Keeping your head in an awkward position for a long period of time, such as sleeping with your neck at an odd angle, can fatigue your neck muscles and cause and the joints in your neck to “freeze” in place. This can result in severe pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion. Trauma can also cause neck pain, with whiplash being the most common. Degenerative neck disorders such as ankylosing spondylosis and cervical spondylosis can also cause neck pain. Stress can cause the neck and shoulders to unconsciously rise and stiffen resulting in neck and shoulder pain. Damp and cold weather can also cause neck stiffness and pain.
Studies show that acupuncture is effective in relieving certain types of neck pain, especially pain from whiplash. Other studies suggest that acupuncture can successfully treat degenerative neck disorders as well. A study, done at the University of Oslo, reported a 70% decrease in pain intensity after 10 acupuncture treatments for office workers who reported chronic neck and shoulder pain. A three year follow-up showed that pain intensity was still lessened by half. Another study published in the British Medical Journal concludes that, “Our results show that acupuncture is a safe form of treatment for people with chronic neck pain, and offers clear clinical advantages over conventional massage in the reduction of pain and improvement of mobility…Acupuncture can be a safe form of treatment for patients with chronic neck pain if the objective is to obtain relief from pain related to motion and to improve cervical mobility”.
In addition to acupuncture, herbal medicine and Tuina (a type of therapeutic massage) can help to relieve neck pain. Herbal medicine is used to improve Qi and Blood circulation to the neck and ease muscle spasms and contractions. Tuina can be used to reduce spasms, lessen pain, and reduce stress often related to neck pain.
How Can Acupuncture Help Shoulder Pain?
Shoulder pain is a common problem for which patients seek relief through Oriental medicine. It is one of the easier musculoskeletal disorders to treat successfully with acupuncture.
Shoulder pain can result from trauma or degenerative disorders. Trauma can include sprains, strains, tears, or dislocations and often are the result of sports injuries such as heavy lifting, a snowboarding fall, or a cycling crash. Degenerative disorders include arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, frozen shoulder or muscle inflammation. Stress coupled with spending the day with one’s shoulders in a fixed position, such as hunched over a keyboard or driving for long hours, can cause shoulder pain and stiffness.
The most common symptoms with shoulder issues is pain and restricted range of motion. Most shoulder pain and stiffness is the result of disordered tension in the muscles and tendons that cross the shoulder joint. Not many shoulder pain patients truly have problems with the bones in their shoulder joint, or have actual cervical protrusions. In Oriental Medicine, four meridians cross the shoulders. There are acupuncture points and herbs that relax and heal the sinews (tendons and ligaments), reduce stress, and move Qi and Blood in the shoulders to relieve pain and promote healing.
More and more studies are being done that support the success of acupuncture for pain relief. According to Dr. Bruce Pomeranz, a neurophysiologist, acupuncture stimulates the release of the body’s own natural painkillers, endorphins. Repeated acupuncture increases the effectiveness of the endorphin system, giving better results after each sequential treatment. One study, published in the Hong Kong Medical Journal, found that patients treated with acupuncture and exercise demonstrated “significantly greater improvement” on shoulder assessment tests than those using just exercise, and suggests that acupuncture could be useful in cases where more conventional therapies have been unsuccessful.
Related Articles:
- Shoulder Pain: The Supraspinatous Muscle – April 2010, Acupuncture Today
- Study: Acupuncture Superior to Ultrasound for Shoulder Impingement – March 2006, Acupuncture Today
- How Can Stress Cause Shoulder Tension? A Chinese Medicine Perspective – February 2006, Acupuncture Toda
- Neck Pain Reduced by Acupuncture – 2004, New York Times
- Acupuncture and Frozen Shoulder – August 2002, Acupuncture Today
- Study: Acupuncture Better than Massage for Chronic Neck Pain – September 2001, Acupuncture Today
- Acupuncture for Neck Pain – Acupuncture Today
- I have had recurrent shoulder pain for three years. At times it is very incapacitating. Can you help? – Acufinder.com