Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) considers pain to be caused by the lack of free flow of qi and/or blood. To put it simply, when the qi and blood move freely, there is no pain.
Unfortunately, the flow of qi and blood can become inhibited at any and every area of the body. The internal organs, joints and ligaments, muscles and of course, the back can all be affected by qi and blood stagnation.
So what causes this stagnation? Stagnation can be brought about by a number of different mechanisms. Traumatic injury to soft tissue such as whiplash or a strained muscle can cause stagnation. There are internal causes, such as deficiency of qi or blood, or a weakness in a particular organ or energy system that impedes the flow of qi and blood and causes stagnation. External causes such as cold, damp, wind or heat can also interfere with the flow of qi and blood and lead to stagnation. More often than not, when a client presents with back pain, there is a combination of these above factors that are the root cause of the problem.
Acupuncture and TCM can be very effective at treating back pain as it addresses these underlying causes of stagnation, thereby not only alleviating pain but also working towards its prevention.
TCM aims to restore the flow of qi and blood in order to alleviate pain with the use of acupuncture, moxibustion (traditional Chinese heat therapy), cupping and herbal medicine, or a combination of these treatments.
As your TCM practitioner I will determine what the best form of treatment is for your specific condition and relieve your back pain naturally.
Sally Nourse