BACK, HIP, NECK PAIN AND SCIATICA

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Back  pain is the largest cause of disability in the UK, accounting for 11%  of disability in the population and rising. Back pain is miserable.  People who have never experienced it often don't understand just how  debilitating and tiring it can be. It can affect everything in a persons  life, especially when sitting too long hurts, standing too long hurts,  and walking too long hurts. Normal things in life become a challenge.

Prescription  medications have their uses, but ideally, it is better to treat the  cause of the pain and look to improve strength, flexibility and mobility  where possible. Our modern day lives are often much more sedentary that  they used to be, with many people spending all day sat at a desk. We don't even have to go to the shops to buy groceries any more. This is a  major cause of back pain, but there are many others, including emotions  like stress, depression, trauma and grief. Back pain can also be  triggered by: a viral infection; a return to exercise after a long  break; manual jobs such as farming; or simply doing things at home such  as gardening, housework and DIY! Some people are unfortunate enough to  have a genetic pre-disposition to back pain, such as scoliosis, wedge  shaped vertebra or other structural issues. These don't always cause  problems on their own - they're often not discovered until something  happens. In most cases though the cause isn't anything serious, and  seeking treatment and advice can help you return to normal life quite  quickly.   
 

Research  has shown that acupuncture is significantly better than no treatment  and at least as good as, if not better than standard medical care for  back pain. (Witt 2006; Haake 2007; Cherkin 2009; Sherman 2009a). 

Acupuncture can help back pain by:  

•  Providing pain relief – by stimulating nerves located in muscles  and other tissues, acupuncture leads to release of endorphins and other  neurohumoral factors and changes the processing of pain in the brain and  spinal cord (Pomeranz 1987; Zhao 2008). 
•  Reducing inflammation – by promoting release of vascular and  immunomodulatory factors (Kim 2008, Kavoussi 2007; Zijlstra 2003).  
•  Improving muscle stiffness and joint mobility – by increasing  local microcirculation (Komori 2009), which aids dispersal of swelling  and bruising.    
•  Reducing the use of medication for back complaints (Thomas 2006).    
•  Providing a more cost-effective treatment over a longer period of time (Radcliffe 2006;Witt 2006).    
•  Improving the outcome when added to conventional treatments such as rehabilitation exercises (Ammendolia 2008; Yuan 2008).    
   

Acupuncture is a tried and tested system of traditional medicine, used in China and other eastern  cultures for thousands of years to restore, promote and maintain good  health. Its benefits are now widely acknowledged all over the world and  in the past decade traditional acupuncture has begun to feature more  prominently in mainstream healthcare in the UK.   

The  use of acupuncture for low back pain is now widely accepted and  recommended by NICE for chronic primary pain including low back pain and  sciatica, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis.      

Many  patients come to us for help with musculoskeletal pain, including back, neck, hip and leg pain. During the consultation, our practitioner will  ask lots of questions about your pain as well as any other symptoms you  may have, and will examine you. She will use this information to form a  diagnosis and choose an appropriate course of treatment, using her  experience and knowledge of anatomy, acupuncture point functions,  channels, and well documented acupuncture point combinations for  different patterns and musculoskeletal conditions. Needles may be placed  locally and also a distance from the area of pain. Recommendations may  also be made at the end of the consultation.   

"A  high proportion of my patients come to me with back pain, often  accompanied by other symptoms such as hip pain and sciatica. Some of  them have already tried other approaches and some have come to me  straight away after learning how helpful acupuncture can be. I find that  using a combination of techniques brings a great deal of relief to most  of my patients over the course of their treatments. Therefore I  frequently apply massage and release techniques and/or cupping therapy  with a combination of Chinese acupuncture and electro-acupuncture, using  traditional acupuncture points, motor points and any other 'ashi'  points I discover whilst working on my patients.
 

I'm  keen to help patients reduce their pain, but also to give them the  tools to prevent or reduce re-occurrence too. As a qualified Pilates and  Mindfulness teacher I am happy to provide exercises to help with core  strength and flexibility, or to teach my patients Qigong exercises or  how to meditate.”  

Our Acupuncturist, Dr Helen Trill DipAc MAA RBAF 

'Following  years of on and off treatments on a bad back I finally decided to try  acupuncture. The treatment that Helen has provided has been excellent  and my back has not felt this good for years. Helen advised on exercises  and a follow up plan. Helen was very friendly and professional, after  my consultation I was confident in Helen's knowledge and comfortable  with the treatment plan suggested. I would definitely recommend Helen.' 

James (Review from WhatClinic)

'Following  what feels like a lifetime of back pain and neck pain exacerbated by a  road traffic accident in June 2017 I initially tried osteopathy, whilst  this helped I reached a plateau so decided to give acupuncture a go.  Initially suffering shoulder and back pain which at times was  debilitating some sessions with Helen eased the symptoms, over the  course of treatment the lower back pain appears to be radiating from  higher up and now I am aware I can manage the symptoms and try and avoid  any further damage.

Helen  is very experienced, got to the root cause of my low back pain which in  turn improves my quality of life, continuing with treatment but now  fortnightly and it continues to improve. Excellent  friendly practitioner, knows her stuff !! If you have tried other  alternative medicines without benefit I suggest you try Helen, a  combination of acupuncture, cupping, massage and exercise has definitely  helped me. Highly recommended.'

Kim (review from our Facebook page) 

NICE: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng193/resources/visual-summary-pdf-9073473517 

Clinical Studies 

Cherkin  DC, Sherman KJ, Avins AL, Erro JH, et al. A randomized trial comparing  acupuncture, simulated acupuncture, and usual care for chronic low back  pain. Arch Intern Med. 2009; 169(9):858-66. 

Sherman  KJ., Cherkin DC, Ichikawa L, Avins AL et al. Characteristics of  patients with chronic back pain who benefit from acupuncture. BMC  Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2009b; 10(1): article 114 

Haake  M, Müller HH, Schade-Brittinger C, Basler HD, et al. German  Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for chronic low back pain: randomized,  multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups. Arch Intern  Med. 2007 Sep 24;167(17):1892-8.   

Witt  CM, Jena S, Selim D, Brinkhaus B et al. Pragmatic randomized trial  evaluating the clinical and economic effectiveness of acupuncture for  chronic low back pain. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Sep 1;164(5):487-96.

Physiological Studies 

Komori  M, Takada K, Tomizawa Y, Nishiyama K, et al. Microcirculatory responses  to acupuncture stimulation and phototherapy. Anesth Analg. 2009  Feb;108(2):635-40. 

Zhao ZQ.  Neural mechanism underlying acupuncture analgesia. Prog Neurobiol. 2008 Aug;85(4):355-75. 

Zhao ZQ.  Neural mechanism underlying acupuncture analgesia. Prog Neurobiol. 2008 Aug;85(4):355-75. 

Kim  HW, Uh DK, Yoon SY, Roh DH et al. Low-frequency electroacupuncture  suppresses carrageenan-induced paw inflammation in mice via sympathetic  post-ganglionic neurons, while high-frequency EA suppression is mediated  by the sympathoadrenal medullary axis. Brain Res Bull. 2008 Mar  28;75(5):698-705. 

Kavoussi B, Ross BE. The neuroimmune basis of anti-inflammatory acupuncture. Integr Cancer Ther. 2007 Sep;6(3):251-7. 

Pomeranz  B. Scientific basis of acupuncture. In: Stux G, Pomeranz B, eds.  Acupuncture Textbook and Atlas. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 1987:1-18. 

Zijlstra  FJ, van den Berg-de Lange I, Huygen FJ, Klein J. Anti-inflammatory  actions of acupuncture. Mediators Inflamm. 2003 Apr;12(2):59-69.  

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