Check this out: the global market for alternative medicine is expected to hit almost $211 billion by the year 2026. Not only does this include acupuncture for neck pain, but it also includes yoga, mind, and body treatment as well.
For those who aren’t exactly up to date with acupuncture news, scrolling through tons of acupuncture reviews can be beyond boring.
Looking for relief after an accident? Here are five ways that this ancient healing method can help you out!
How Does Acupuncture Even Work, Anyway?
If you’re someone that’s looking for acupuncture for nerve pain, then you’re right where you need to be. But if you don’t know how it works, then it might be confusing at first.
Not only is acupuncture accepted by medical professionals everywhere, but it’s also beloved by medical patients. As a matter of fact, over three million American patients claimed to have had acupuncture within the last year.
For those who are feeling totally clueless, acupuncture is basically a combination of heat, pressure, and needles that are applied to particular spots on your skin. Gaining popularity in the early 1970s, acupuncture had already been widely used in Chinese medicine for the last 2,000 years.
That’s when an article first surfaced in the New York Times by a reporter whose extreme appendicitis pain had been healed by needles. In the mid-1990s, acupuncture received the federal stamp of approval from the U.S. Government.
As if that’s not enough, acupuncture needles are also considered to be a so-called “medical device” now too. Plus, science has already proven that acupuncture can really work wonders on those who suffer from daily body pain. While it might sound like some elaborate magic trick, acupuncture uses super tiny needles to ease back, neck, and shoulder pain.
Encouraging our bodies to heal themselves, experts say that acupuncture can relieve us of our dependence on harmful pain management medications. Don’t know if acupuncture treatments are right for you?
The truth is, you’ll never know if acupuncture works for you unless you see for yourself. And if you’re worried about acupuncture cost, then you’ll be more than happy to find out that it’s not nearly as expensive as you think. Read on to find out more about the many health benefits of acupuncture below!
1. Acupuncture Can Relieve Chronic Pain
For those who are totally unaware, acupuncture has treated chronic pain for a very long time, including the following four chronic pain conditions:
- Shoulder pain
- Chronic headache
- Osteoarthritis
- Neck and back pain
Guess what? In a mind-blowing turn of events, even the National Institutes of Health had this to say about acupuncture: “the most rigorous evidence to date that acupuncture may be helpful for chronic pain.”
Ever since acupuncture was accepted by the medical community, physicians have been scrambling to use it as a pain treatment alternative for the overwhelming opioid epidemic. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years, opioids include Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin medications.
But wait—there’s more. Opioids also include things like morphine and codeine, which have resulted in a lot of unnecessary overdoses recently. On top of that, the U.S. Center for Disease Control also suggests that physicians try out alternative pain treatment for chronic pain patients as well.
While this doesn’t include those patients dealing with active cancer, end of life care, or palliative care, the CDC’s groundbreaking acupuncture recommendation could change the world of alternative medicine as we know it.
2. Acupuncture Can Treat Cancer Patients
If you’ve ever had a loved one that suffered from cancer, then you already know how often they have to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. However, acupuncture has successfully been used to treat cancer patients in recent years. Yes, you read that right.
On the bright side, cancer patients are now receiving acupuncture therapy in order to relieve their chronic pain issues. To be more specific, acupuncture helps to relieve feelings of vomiting or nausea during therapy. The best part of this alternative Chinese treatment is that it works on cancer patients who are in all stages of the disease.
That includes those that have just been diagnosed, those who are currently experiencing cancer therapy, and those that are toward the end of the disease.
Contrary to popular belief, things like radiation and chemotherapy can actually make a person’s immune system become even weaker than it already was. We can’t emphasize this enough: if you or a loved one seek acupuncture for cancer treatment relief, then be sure to remind the acupuncturist to keep their needles clean at all times. We promise you won’t regret it!
3. Acupuncture Can Increase Women’s Health
If you’ve ever experienced cramps before, then you’ll know how debilitating that pain can be. The good news is that acupuncture can help women suffering from dysmenorrhea, painful menstrual cycles, and more. From menstrual cramp relief to improved fertility, acupuncture has been scientifically proven to increase women’s health like nothing else on the market.
In fact, researchers have even suggested that acupuncture can help reduce monthly menstrual pain as well. But the catch is there’s still a need for more research on this topic right now.
Meanwhile, women who have been trying to conceive with traditional fertility treatments can rejoice because acupuncture can increase their odds of pregnancy too. That’s not all.
For those women who are going through in vitro fertilization treatments, acupuncture can even give their success rates a definitive boost. Here’s the breakdown.
By relieving stress and anxiety that women often go through during their fertility process. In addition, acupuncture can also improve the flow of blood to a woman’s uterus as well. Talk about weird science!
4. Acupuncture Can Improve Mental Health
News flash: if you’re someone who’s dealing with a mental health illness, this condition can be treated by acupuncture as well. Unlike physical brain issues that can be treated by a professional neurologist, mental health problems aren’t exactly as easy to treat.
This is crazy – when the flow of energy is blocked in your body, this can create physical issues like pain as well as mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Using acupuncture, these symptoms can be treated successfully by balancing the body’s energy.
What’s the point? When it’s all said and done, acupuncture can reduce the intensity and frequency of severe mood swings for those who need it the most. As an alternative to medications, acupuncture can release more norepinephrine, dopamine, and endorphins in the body, creating a more positive state of mind overall!
5. Acupuncture Can Help with Addiction Recovery
One of the main ways that it helps substance abuse patients is by detoxifying the body. Miraculously enough, acupuncture treatment can help addicts recover in several different ways. In case you’re wondering, acupuncture assists addicts by decreasing their substance cravings.
Also known as ear acupuncture, auricular is a common way to help addicts recover faster. All that you have to do is have a tiny needle inserted into several different spots on the outside of your earlobe. While this might sound quite strange, it’s actually super effective at reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
By reducing the level of dopamine given to an addict when they use a substance, acupuncture can effectively wean them off of their drug of choice. And when drugs lose that rewarding feeling, addicts will naturally ditch their substance cravings for good. How can you beat that?
Helpful Tips to Find a Good Acupuncturist
If you’ve never been to the acupuncturist before, it might be a little hard to choose the perfect one. For starters, you might want to ask your primary doctor for a referral of acupuncturists in your area. Another smart idea is to ask your healthcare provider, friends, or family for other acupuncturist recommendations too.
However, you might want to check out the acupuncturist’s reviews and recommendations online before you book an appointment first. You can also ask family, friends, and other healthcare providers for recommendations as well.
To make your job much easier, make sure to give to each acupuncturist front desk or call for a meet and greet appointment. That way, you can get to know your new acupuncturist before they stick a bunch of tiny needles into your body.
How can you research an acupuncturist’s credentials? The answer is simple. In the world of acupuncture, having the right license is like a golden ticket for acupuncturists. Not only does it let you know that your acupuncturist has gone to the right schools, but it also shows you that they’ve received the proper certifications.
Plus, experience counts as well, especially if you’re dealing with chronic fatigue and pain. Thus, it pays to ask your acupuncturist important questions about how many people they’ve seen with the same condition.
Don’t be afraid to ask the acupuncturists about the “complication rate” either. For the uninitiated, this has to do with any problems the alternative health practitioner encounters while they’re treating your pain issues.
Thought about what gender you want your acupuncturist to be yet? If not, then you definitely should be, particularly if you’re discussing more intimate details with the acupuncturist. Another thing to keep in mind is your personal gender identity.
The point is, the more comfortable you feel, the better!
More Advice for Finding the Perfect Acupuncturist
Dying to hear some last-minute acupuncturist advice? Fortunately for you, here are a few of our final fail-proof tips:
- Evaluate your acupuncturist’s style of communication
- Look at customer satisfaction reviews
- Figure out what your insurance will cover
How can you possibly evaluate your acupuncturist’s style of communication? Make sure that you select an acupuncturist that you feel comfortable talking with and who gives you the information that you need.
During your first meeting, ask your acupuncturist questions and see how they respond. Are they answering the questions in a way that’s understandable to you? Here’s a surefire sign – if you end up Googling your symptoms after an acupuncturist meeting, you might want to look for a better one near you.
Also, looking at customer satisfaction reviews is a great way to see what other clients have said about that acupuncturist. In addition, scanning customer reviews will also give you a picture of how well the acupuncture is running their practice.
Besides this, patient reviews will also show you what to expect in terms of the office environment, wait times, and scheduling appointments process. To see how much other patients respect a particular acupuncturist, just look at the overall rating given by their clients.
Lastly, be sure to figure out what your insurance will cover in advance. If you want to spend less cash on your services, then you might need to select an acupuncturist who’s covered by your insurance company. Keep in mind that the hospital quality, outcomes, experience, and credentials of your acupuncturist still matter, even if you’re choosing them from your current insurance plan.
What should you do if you don’t have any insurance? There’s nothing wrong with asking your acupuncturist if their sessions can be reimbursed via your job’s “flexible spending plan.” You never know!
Are You Up to Date on the Latest Acupuncture News?
Thanks to our guide, you should be totally up to date on the latest acupuncture news. For those who are still behind, we’ve got all the latest news on the acupuncture world for you.
If you have you been in a work-related accident recently, call us at (888) 590-4030 or click here to make an appointment with a top worker’s compensation doctor today!