Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Acupuncture is becoming increasingly known as a remedy for pain. Having the advantage of being drug-free and natural, it can achieve effective relief for pain without any side effects or damage to the body. 

Through the insertion of fine needles into specific points along the body, acupuncture serves to clear blockages in the meridians – channels along which Qi (vital energy) travels – which, in TCM theory, are the cause of pain and other ailments. It is an extremely effective treatment for pain, as results can be seen very quickly after treatment.

According to The Age, acupuncture is even “as effective as drugs in treating pain” (March 30, 2014). The article details an acupuncture trial of about 550 patients in four Melbourne emergency departments, and reports that the randomised controlled study “has found it [acupuncture] is just as good as drugs in relieving lower-back pain and that from sprained ankles and migraines.”

Dr. Michael Ben-Meir, who oversaw the trial, remarked that “Acupuncture was equivalent to what we defined as conventional medicine standard care, which was strong oral analgesia, such as Endone, Panadeine Forte, Voltaren and Valium”

Furthermore, according to the article, “the director of emergency medicine at The Alfred hospital, De Villiers Smit, said although he was initially sceptical about acupuncture, the study convinced him it was safe and effective in improving pain management.”

Another earlier report by The Age (March 12, 2009) reaffirms this, and details a study by researchers in the US reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The report highlighted that “After eight weeks, 60 per cent of the patients who got any type of acupuncture reported significant improvement in their ability to function compared with those who got standard medical care alone.”

“Regardless of how it works acupuncture appears to be a relatively safe and painless way of easing an aching back, especially when traditional medicine fails.”