Chronic pain is a widespread problem that plagues 126 million American adults. Out of the adults who say they suffer from pain, 11% deal with it daily, and 10% describe the pain as severe. Rebecca Baker, LAc, at Acupuncture Associates of Castle Rock specializes in using traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, and therapeutic massage, to help patients find effective and long-lasting pain relief. To get help with your pain, call the office in Castle Rock, Colorado, or schedule an appointment online.
Pain Q & A
What should I know about acute and chronic pain?
Acute pain develops suddenly, then goes away within 3-6 months. Your pain becomes chronic when it’s still there after the original injury or illness heals, or it lasts longer than six months. Patients with long-term pain quickly learn that it’s hard to treat because it often doesn’t respond to conventional medical treatment.
Why is it important to manage chronic pain?
The most important reason to manage your pain is that you can stay active and enjoy your life. However, there are also physical reasons to get your pain under control as soon as possible.
When your nerves are constantly exposed to pain signals for a prolonged time, changes occur in your central nervous system that make you hypersensitive to pain. As a result, you start to experience pain from things that aren’t normally painful, like the soft touch of a blanket.
What types of alternative therapies relieve pain?
In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to relieve pain. In more recent times, practitioners of Western medicine have begun to study acupuncture.
Their research continues to show that acupuncture is an effective treatment for pain caused by many health problems, from headaches and fibromyalgia to back pain, osteoarthritis, and other musculoskeletal conditions.
At Acupuncture Associates of Castle Rock, Rebecca has extensive training and experience in providing pain-relieving therapies such as:
Acupuncture
Your Qi or life energy normally flows freely through defined pathways in your body. When the pathways become blocked due to injuries, disease, or illness, your body can’t heal and you experience pain. Rebecca removes blockages and restores the flow by placing thin needles in strategic acupuncture points along the blocked pathways.
In addition to re-energizing Qi, acupuncture needles stimulate the release of endorphins, your body’s natural pain relievers, as well as neurotransmitters that help regulate pain. Following treatment with acupuncture, many patients experience long-lasting improvement in chronic pain.
Herbal medicine and nutritional support
Traditional Chinese medicine uses the active ingredients found in plants to relieve your pain and heal underlying conditions contributing to the pain. Rebecca also evaluates your nutritional health and recommends dietary changes or supplements to restore deficiencies in essential healing nutrients.
Therapeutic massage
Traditional massage therapies such as tui na and Reiki relax muscles, ease tension, relieve pain, and restore Qi balance.
If you suffer from acute or chronic pain, call Acupuncture Associates of Castle Rock or schedule an appointment online.
