How to tell if acupuncture is working even if you’re still in pain
Chronic pain can be overwhelming. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if acupuncture is working. Progress is not always linear or straightforward. If you’re receiving acupuncture…
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Chronic pain can be overwhelming. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if acupuncture is working. Progress is not always linear or straightforward. If you’re receiving acupuncture…
The pain scale is an imperfect tool. If you can’t give your pain a number or if the question stresses you out and you make a guess that might not be accurate, that’s ok.
According to Cicely Saunders’ concept of total pain, you cannot properly treat a person’s physical pain without addressing their other kinds of pain. In our experience at GCA we have also found that you can provide relief for one kind of pain by treating another kind of pain.
We see many people in intense, long-term chronic pain. Some of these people get immediate and dramatic relief, but it’s much more common for regular treatment to slowly chip away at an issues that are chronic. And sometimes progress is less straightforward. How do you tell if acupuncture is working even though you’re still in pain? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
by Stef Cordes and Lisa Baird People often come to us for help with pain that is being partly managed by opioid painkillers, like Tylenol…
A common, but awful, saying is that “the pain is all in your head.” The saying implies that it’s not real, that you’re making it up to get attention, which isn’t true. Yes, pain is located in your head, within your brain, and it’s very real. How your brain and nervous system process information has a huge impact on how much you hurt, and for how long. At GCA we believe you when you say it hurts, and we can treat you for that pain whether it is due to a current injury,or something more long-term and complex.
Community acupuncture can help with many of the common symptoms of MS, including chronic pain, trouble walking and/or “drop foot”, deep fatigue, muscle weakness and spasms, numbness and tingling, depression, and problems with focus and memory.
Pain is the number one reason people come to us for treatment. Acupuncture has long been recognized as effective treatment for all kinds of pain, and our sliding scale ($25-$50) allows people to access regular treatment, which is necessary in order for acupuncture to be effective. We have three important things to say on the topic of treating chronic pain …
Many things can cause depression and anxiety. A traumatic event, hormonal shifts, bereavement, chronic pain, prolonged lack of sleep, socio-economic struggles and living with oppression can all trigger or aggravate mild to severe depression as well as anxiety. Whatever the cause(s), community acupuncture can help.