If your car is making a strange noise, you don’t say, “I’ll just drive it less” or “Maybe I should drive it slower.” You’d try to find out what was wrong … maybe dirty fuel, or fuel with an octane that’s too low, or some other problem.
We take great care of our cars but with a headache, low back pain, joint pain, or other pain, we don’t always bother to ask why it hurts. Often we just take an aspirin or ibuprofen to sedate the pain. But this doesn’t really address the source of the problem.
Fortunately, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been shown to be very effective for alleviation of pain and a means to get at the root of the symptoms rather than simply mask them. One of the best things about acupuncture treatment of pain is that its effects are often immediate.
In Chinese medicine, pain is seen as either 1) the blockage or obstruction of the free flow of energy, called qi, and blood through the channels (also called meridians), or 2) lack of sufficient qi and blood to maintain a smooth and free flow. In very simplified terms, it’s as if a pipe is plugged, preventing water from flowing, or there is not enough force of water to push through the pipe. All pain, no matter what its Western medical diagnosis, is considered in Chinese medicine to be a problem with the free flow of qi and blood.
Since many of the symptoms of pain involve blockage of qi, as soon as the qi is made to flow, the symptoms begin to improve. Because anxiety and depression can make pain worse, the soothing, relaxing effects of acupuncture very quickly add to a person’s feeling of well-being and return to health.
Chronic pain has been said to be the most costly health problem in America. Estimated annual costs, including direct medical expenses, lost income, lost productivity, compensation payments, and legal charges, are about $90 billion.
Many over-the-counter pain remedies offer only temporary relief but produce many immediate side effects, such as aspirin or ibuprofen irritating the stomach, or a reaction that becomes harmful over a period of time. Aspirin’s blood-thinning action may actually weaken immune response or affect fertility over time. Prolonged use of cortisone results in wasting of bone and connective tissue and depresses the immune system. And new studies have shown serious life-threatening risks, including heart attack and stroke, associated with prescription pain medications such as Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, Aleve, and Naprosyn. Some have been taken off the market.
Long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs eventually reduces vital energy, affecting metabolism, blood production, and mood. Chinese medicine—which includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary changes, exercise, and attention to emotional and spiritual factors—takes a different approach to treating pain. Treatments focus on the type and location of the pain by observing the flow of qi … and the flow of pain.
Internal and External Origins of Pain
Pains resulting from injury come from outside the body. But many pains originate inside the body. For example, soreness can result from toxins trapped in the body. Dancers and athletes know the stiffness and aches possible after uric acid has built up after exercise. This type of muscle discomfort becomes a severe “acid burn” with inadequate oxygen and qi circulation. Other examples are joint pain, headaches, and sinus pain and congestion caused by what Chinese medicine calls an excessive “damp” condition. In acupuncture the goals would be to eliminate that dampness and alleviate pain. Pain usually comes from stuck qi circulation either from injury or long-term imbalance. Pain is a sign that the smooth circulation of qi has been interrupted.
Types of Pain
EXCESS PAIN
Excess conditions often originate from outside. The pain and discomfort exist because the body is struggling to eliminate something that should not be there. The symptoms can be hot or cold in nature, but the goal of treatment is to increase the movement of qi, to nourish and tonify the systems involved in the struggle, and to enhance the body’s immune system.
Excess pain can also be due to stuck qi circulation and tends to feel worse with pressure or massage—it doesn’t want to be touched. Sharp, stabbing pains are severe and include injury (sprains or strains to ankles, knees, hips, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck), sciatica, stiff/wry neck, pain from ulcers or hiatal hernia, migraines, or toothaches.
DEFICIENT PAIN
Deficient pain is often accompanied by fatigue or an empty feeling. This pain originates from a weakness or imbalance in the entire system and feels better with warmth, pressure, and massage, because the person has depleted qi energy. Deficient pain can be menstrual aches that send you to bed with a hot water bottle, or headaches cured by rest, massage, and hot compresses.
If the condition is recurring or chronic, weakness can become profound and muscles usually begin “guarding” an area by becoming habitually contracted, tight, and sore. While massage can offer temporary relief, acupuncture goes to the source of the chronic problem and gently coaxes the body back into a state of balance.
Painful Obstruction, or Bi Syndrome
(pronounced “bee”)Pain and numbness in joints and muscles are the primary symptoms but these are characterized and influenced by wind, heat, cold, dampness and the emotions. This syndrome is often the result of exposure to adverse weather conditions, but it can arise from other factors: excessive aerobic exercise or jogging may put a strain on the ankles, knees, or spine; work- or play-related repetitive movements can cause an obstruction of qi, age-related wear and tear on joints can create pain (for example, osteoarthritis); accidents can create “vulnerable” areas that end up being places in the body where we “store” tension; and emotional problems (anger, resentment, anxiety, sadness, grief, and shock) contribute to blockage of the free flow of qi in the body, creating pain.
Both acupuncture and Chinese herbs are extremely effective in treating Painful Obstructive Syndrome, or pain of any kind. Acupuncture in particular is the treatment of choice with pain because of excellent results in both acute and chronic cases. Acute cases, in fact, can usually be resolved in a few treatments. However, the majority of people who come for acupuncture for pain conditions present more chronic symptoms. These can be treated successfully too, but the more long-standing the condition, the longer it will take to clear. Herbal formulas are particularly good in chronic cases.
Two people, each with a main symptom of pain, would typically receive two radically different treatments Chinese medicine because the root cause of their pain is different. Each patient is given individualized treatment based on the cause and nature of his or her particular pattern of disharmony.
Some pain statistics:
- It’s estimated that 65 to 80% of people in Western industrialized countries will suffer from low back pain at some time in their life. Several million working days are lost each year because of back pain.
- Back pain is the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years old.
- Approximately 21 million Americans are afflicted with some form of osteoarthritis (knees, fingers, hips, and spine).
- As female athletes have increased their participation in sports events in the past 20 years, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are also on the rise as the most common injury site in women’s sports. Women athletes at greatest risk are those who are involved in sports that require pivoting, cutting, jumping, and twisting movements.
- According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as many as 45 million Americans have chronic, severe headaches that can be disabling; more than $4 billion is spent each year on over-the-counter pain medications for headaches; and migraine sufferers lose more than 157 million workdays because of headache pain.
- The majority of patients in intermediate or advanced stages of cancer suffer moderate to severe pain. More than 1,300,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S.
- Other pain disorders such as the neuralgias and neuropathies that affect nerves throughout the body, pain due to damage to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), and pain that has no obvious physical cause—psychogenic pain—increase the total number of reported cases of pain.
- It is estimated that 15% to 33% of the U.S. population, or as many as 70 million people, are affected by chronic pain. It disables more people than cancer or heart disease and costs the American people more than both combined. Pain costs an estimated $100 billion a year in medical costs, lost working days, and workers compensation.