Pain is a global problem and it also affects people around you. You may be the one who is suffering from pain… 

Acute pain warns you that you have been hurt. It starts suddenly, and when the injury heals, the pain usually subsides or stops all together. In acute injury, the pain is due to a pressure from inflammation in the tissues and onto the nerves at the site of the trauma. The pain can also be referring and/or radiating out from the impaired site (e.g. lumbar spine) to another part of the body (e.g. leg). 

Chronic pain continues after the acute period has passed, lasting for weeks, months, or even years. In chronic injury, nerves that were active during the acute phase continue to send signals registering inflammation, muscle spasms, or a compression of certain structures. Though the pain being experienced may have initially resulted from an acute impairment, chronic pain is typically pathologic, secondary to a malfunction (an upregulation) of pain-signaling receptors and is associated with hypersensitivity to various factors, e.g. stress, poor sleep and diet – to name just a few. It can also be a reflection of poor healing processes lingering from the acute phase.

Doctors treating pain by conventional means usually prescribe various combinations of an anti-inflammatory medication (e.g. Ibuprofen), a muscle relaxant (e.g. Flexeril), an opioid (e.g. Norco), and medications affecting nerve conductivity (e.g. Gabapentin) – being the most common.

Because of numerous side-effects and potential dependency and/or addiction to some medications, patients afflicted by pain frequently find out for themselves that drugs cannot be the only answer. They look for alternatives, and often discover through a friend, a neighbor, or media that acupuncture is widely known for its effectiveness in the treatment of pain. Its unique role in accelerating the body’s own healing process is one of the main reasons it has become so popular in the United States and around the world.

Anna Brantman, DAOM, LAc has extensive professional experience in the treatment of acute and chronic pain conditions. When it comes to the pain, there is “no one size fits all solution”. Everything matters”, says Dr. Brantman:

1. When did the pain start?

2. If related to an injury, what were the circumstances, motions or forces leading up to the injury

3. Are there repetitive activities that put excessive demands on a body or body part

4. The whole body health