Have you ever considered treating low back pain with acupuncture and Chinese herbs? We believe that low risk techniques such as acupuncture should be the first line of therapy for radiculopathy, sciatica, disc disease, and spinal stenosis.
Although acupuncture and moxabustion are the mainstay of treatment in the East and widely used in Europe, increasing numbers of patients and physicians in the U.S. are also learning how useful these ancients methods can be. For more than 2500 years, generations of patients and physicians have depended on traditional medicine for painful conditions of all sorts, including for low back pain, sciatica, femoralgia, neuritis, and arthritis of the spine.
Traditional herbal medicine and acupuncture have also proved to be a useful tool to address pain in acute and chronic conditions. Depending on which channels are involved, disc disease, neuralgia, sciatica, muscle strain, spinal stenosis, and pain resulting from surgery and trauma can be helped by acupuncture. Even patients who have not done well after surgery may benefit from acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.
Our experience with acupuncture and herbal medicine suggests that acupuncture treatment often results in pain relief, decrease of swelling, reduced stiffness, and a return to better function and range of motion. Side effects from surgery, such as nerve damage, unpleasant sensations in the trunk and legs, and even weakness can sometimes be reduced.
Acupuncture and other techniques of traditional Chinese medicine are best applied early in the course of a back injury. Surgery should be avoided if possible, until after it is seen if acupuncture can help. Repeated surgeries make it less likely that acupuncture will quickly address the problem, and under this circumstance continuing acupuncture and moxabustion treatment may be necessary. Failed back surgery clinics are becoming a familiar item in the medical landscape, so it is clear that surgery for low back pain has its drawbacks.
Dr. L.B. Grotte, M.D., was the first physician in Ohio to be board certified in both acupuncture and Chinese herbology. He has studied Oriental medicine since 1972 and has practiced Oriental medicine in Cleveland for more than 27 years. Our small practice specializes in creating individualized treatment plans combining Western and Oriental methods. Call us at 440-461-7488 to make an appointment or visit our website for more information.
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