One word of warning.... don't expect everything to be better after one treatment! Most often patients come to see me then their back problem is particularly bad, i.e. they can hardly move! There is often muscle spasm after doing some activity. As I have already mentioned, muscles that are shortened and tightened over the years due to our sedentary lifestyle will be prone to muscle spasm. Fortunately acupuncture is excellent at removing muscle spasm, however the patient will always be vulnerable to this type of back pain unless the back is treated to get it in better condition. It is very rare to see an acute back problem.
All back problems that I see in the clinic are acute on chronic, that is to say, there is a history of back pain and the patient comes to see me when is a particularly painful. Many patients will come for treatment until they are pain free again and then stop treatment. This is fine. However the pain will return sometime in the future. This is fine provided that the patient is aware of this and gets it treated immediately. It may be one month later, six months, or years. The longer the duration between back pain flare-ups, the better.
Of course, not all back pain is musculoskeletal. There are more serious conditions such as ankylosing spondolysis or fibromyalgia that cause back pain. Saying this, the vast majority of back pain is musculoskeletal and responds very well with acupuncture. Other conditions may also respond with acupuncture but treatment may be more prolonged.
(published with permission in writing from:http://www.gloucesteracupuncture.co.uk)
