Acupuncture for pain can no longer be ignored by the mainstream

In chronic pain? Try this time-tested treatment first!

It’s the alternative treatment for pain that can no longer be ignored.

But despite reams of recent data proving “clinically meaningful results,” many doctors still refuse to admit it.

How much more do doctors need to know before they accept acupuncture as a legitimate way to treat pain… and stop writing prescriptions for opioids and other incredibly dangerous drugs?

If you’re suffering from any kind of ache, discomfort, or chronic pain, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to try this treatment — one that’s been working wonders for over 2,000 years!

A therapy that’s been proven for centuries
“Acupuncture is here to stay.”

That’s what Dr. Farshad Ahadian, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of California, San Diego, declared when he recently presented two decades’ worth of research to doctors at the annual meeting of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management.

He then told the group about what he called an “academically rigorous” analysis done in the UK. Researchers there pored over 1,000 different publications and selected 29 they judged to be of the highest quality.

In those studies (which compared the treatment to either a “sham” therapy or no treatment at all), acupuncture was found to be exceptionally effective for taking away neck and lower back pain, stiffness and pain caused by osteoarthritis of the knee, and headaches — including migraines.

It’s getting a little hard to call this respected (and widely used) ancient remedy fakery, isn’t it?

If you’re not familiar with acupuncture, the basic principle of Chinese medicine is that by inserting small, thin needles (just a teeny, tiny bit!) at certain points in the body, you can restore the flow of energy — referred to as “qi.”

But I guess Dr. Ahadian realized that asking that group to wrap their heads around the idea of increasing energy flow to relieve pain was a bit much! So, he “translated” that for them as “improving functional connectivity.”

Whatever you want to call it, there’s no doubt that if you’re in pain, there’s no reason in the world not to give acupuncture a try — especially if you’re on the older side, as seniors are much more likely than younger folks to suffer from some type of chronic pain.

And while Dr. Ahadian focused on the conditions I just mentioned, acupuncture can do so much more!

For example, it’s also been found to be an effective treatment for:

Cancer pain — including pain caused by chemo, surgery, and the disease itself.
Dental pain — Researchers have found that a single acupuncture treatment is a quick and effective way to dull an acute toothache.
High blood pressure — Research from the University of California found that a type of acupuncture called “electro-acupuncture” can lower blood pressure numbers enough to be “clinically meaningful.”
Nausea and vomiting — Acupuncture is known to be extremely effective for nausea and vomiting, but there’s something that’s even better. Another ancient technique, called acupressure, also targets certain key spots in your body without needles. In fact, the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center even has a diagram on its website showing how you can do it yourself by using your thumb to apply firm, but not painful, pressure for two or three minutes on the inside of the wrist over the two large tendons below your index finger.

If you’re wondering how to get started with acupuncture, it’s as simple as looking online or even in your local phone book for a licensed practitioner!

In many cases, insurance covers the treatments. While Medicare won’t pay for acupuncture, some Medicare Advantage plans will.

And as far as the number of treatments needed to achieve the desired results, it’s often not very many. In the studies done on knee arthritis, for example, the patients got relief in as little as six treatments over the course of a month.

“Acupuncture for chronic pain: Unprecedented advances” Pauline Anderson, October 30, 2017, Medscape, medscape.com