Read what the press say about acupuncture and back pain.

If you have back, neck or shoulder pain, you can experience lasting relief from symptoms. In over 14 years of practise, we have observed in our patients that the majority of their chronic back pain is caused by muscles which are in spasm. Even arthritic joints are affected by muscle spasm and can be effectively treated

When treating back pain with acupuncture, very fine needles are used to release the muscle spasm, combined with deep and soothing therapeutic massage techniques which enable muscles to return to their normal state.

Inserting acupuncture needles into muscles in spasm seems to have several effects. Firstly, the spasm in the muscle may be released instantaneously and felt as a "twitch" in the muscle. The needles help to draw healing energy into the muscle tissues and promote the flow of blood to take away toxins which may have accumulated in the muscle.

Massage continues the work started by the needles. It opens up the circulation in the muscles and releases held tension. Massage is always given at a pressure which feels comfortable and relaxing for you.

This method of treating back and muscle pain has been used successfully in the U.K. and America for some 30 years. We have trained with one of the leading teachers of this style of treatment and use it extensively in our practise.

The Back in Action Exercise Programme

If you are susceptible to back problems it is important to be aware of lifting correctly and to do exercises to help strengthen and support your back.

This programme will guide you through the steps that will help you heal your back pain. 
If you’re already under the supervision of your doctor or therapist, this programme can still be used to help improve and maintain your health because your understanding will help prevent it happening again.

• Most back pain is rooted in problems with the muscles of your back and legs.   Muscles exert force on the bones of your body and if they pull too much, or not enough, your bone structure will be pulled out of alignment. When the misalignment is great enough, pain will eventually follow. 

• Muscles work in pairs, one pulling a bone one way, the other pulling the same bone back where it started. This is called an antagonistic pair. It’s rather like a tug of war, though it only gets to be like a tug of war when there’s a problem! For example your biceps muscle bends your arm and its antagonist (your triceps), straightens your arm.

• When one muscle in an antagonistic pair pulls too much and the other not enough it’s known as a “muscle imbalance”.  Muscle imbalances are very common and there may be several antagonistic pairs involved around the joint that’s painful.

There are four types of muscle-based problems that lead to back pain.

• Forward tilting pelvis
• High hip
• Backward tilting pelvis
• Forward Head and Shoulders

Each of these problems needs their own set of specific exercises to correct them.  Very often, back pain exercise programmes suggest exercises that may work for one of the above problems, but will make another problem worse.

A “one size fits all” back pain exercise programme can therefore make matters considerably worse for some people, as they may strengthen muscles which are already overworking.

This programme will identify the source of your particular back problem and the exercises that you need to do to correct it.

You will learn:

• What kind of back problem you have.
• You will practise the exercises you need to do to correct it.
• How to assess that you are doing your exercises correctly.
• How to know when it is appropriate to bring in other exercises to support the health of your back.
• How to fine tune your diet to build the strength of your back.
• Which supplements and herbs can support you.

When you complete this programme you can feel assured that not only can you help yourself be free from pain, you can build a stronger, healthier body using the maintenance exercise programmes.

You will be able to access the Back in Action programme as a subscriber of My Health Network website.

 

To book your appointment, please phone us on

024 7634 3100

Your call will always be answered in person, between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday

You may also email us: enquiries@acupunctureclinic.co.uk

If you suffer from back pain, acupuncture can help bring you lasting relief.