Coming up with a pain management for acute or chronic pain is something most of us have to navigate at some point in our lives. Eastern medicine excels in treating acute or chronic soft tissue pain, including nerve pain, and certain kinds of chronic internal pain.

For any type of pain we always recommend you first always see a Western doctor, but especially if it’s something that arises internally. A doctor will diagnose the problem using objective tests. Where appropriate, he/she should inform you what pain management treatment options are available.

You can create your pain management strategy after exploring these options as well as “alternative” therapies such as acupuncture. As a pain management strategy, acupuncture is drug-free, speeds healing, and lessens or eliminates pain. Eastern medicine has been proven to be safe, effective, gentle, and long-lasting.

Acupuncture affects certain areas of the brain that have to do with the perception of pain and processing of new experiences, in particular those with a strong emotional overtone. Additionally, the methods used in Eastern medicine to manage acute or chronic pain work to reduce inflammation, boost immunity and build new soft tissue.

Here’s a short list of what we treat, to get an idea of what Eastern medicine treats well:

• Back, neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, CTS, TMJ, knee, ankle, hand and foot
• Joint (arthritis, bursitis, repetitive use syndrome, chronic and acute injuries)
• Muscle, Tendon, Ligament (sprains, strains, breaks, cuts and bruises)
• Nerves (pinched, herniation, neuropathy)
• Internal/Other (post-operative, palliative, headache, menstrual, abdominal, and more)

Eastern medicine as part of your strategy of pain management for acute or chronic pain is appropriate for acute and chronic soft tissue injury and for chronic disorders of an internal origin, such as headaches, menstrual cramps, digestive upset or asthma.