Acupuncture Effective at Treating Acute and Chronic Pain

Posted by davidscrimgeour on November 28th, 2014

By Kathy Thorpe, MA, CHom, Boulder, Colorado

You’ve pulled a muscle, you woke up with a stiff and painful neck, you twisted your knee, you were shoveling snow and now your shoulder hurts, or you overdid it in yoga yesterday and pulled a muscle in your back. These are just a few of the daily tasks that can cause musculoskeletal pain. The pain can often be excruciating. Left untreated, the pain can become chronic. What should you do? Applying ice packs or heat, getting physical therapy or taking ibuprofen or muscle relaxers can often help relieve the pain. But is there a better option to treat pain without side effects?  Boulder Acupuncturist, David Scrimgeour maintains that acupuncture is one of the best and fastest treatments to relieve acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain.

A recent high-quality meta-analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine sought to determine the effect of acupuncture on four chronic pain conditions: back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache and shoulder pain. Researchers analyzed the results of 29 studies involving 18,000 participants who had real acupuncture, “sham” acupuncture or no acupuncture at all. The results provided robust evidence that acupuncture was superior to both sham and no-acupuncture controls for each pain condition. They concluded that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is a reasonable referral option.

Many people wonder how acupuncture works to relieve pain and promote healing. “Hair-fine needles are inserted into the body at specific points located along meridians or vital energy pathways,” says David Scrimgeour. “Acupuncture promotes healing by increasing collateral blood circulation, and it also relieves inflammation, relaxes skeletal muscles, corrects imbalances in the flow of “qi” or energy in the body and brings the body back in balance.” In physiological terms, acupuncture relieves pain by stimulating the secretion of endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers) by increasing serotonin in the brain (the “feel good” neurotransmitter), and also by balancing neuro-hormonal and immune function in the body.

One of David Scrimgeour’s favorite quotes is from the Huang De Nei Jing written in the 2^nd Century, BC: "Some people say that an illness that has persisted for a long time cannot be removed. This statement is wrong. When someone who is experienced in utilizing the needles removes such an illness, it is as if he pulled out a thorn, as if he untied a knot, as if he opened what was blocked.”

For the past 24 years, David Scrimgeour has successfully treated all kinds of acute and chronic pain using Acupuncture at his clinic in Boulder, Colorado. His patients include winners of the Boston & Chicago marathons, swimmers, runners, skiers, and cyclists as well as thousands of ordinary people with pain.  He specializes in Sports Injuries: sprains, strains, pulled muscles, ligament & cartilage tears, stiff muscles & joints; Acute and Chronic back pain; Knee, Neck, Shoulder, Arm and Leg Pain; Fractures; Whiplash; Arthritis and Sciatica.

David Scrimgeour practices Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at his clinic in Boulder, Colorado. He is also an Acupuncturist for the Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette and Erie areas in Colorado. For more information, he can be reached at 303 413-9596 or through his website: www.davidscrimgeour.com.

Kathy Thorpe is a natural health writer and blogger who has been writing about alternative approaches to health and wellness for the past ten years. Prior to that, she taught English at U.C. Berkeley and at the University of Colorado.  She can be reached at 303 583-0179.