Oriental Medicine, A Safe Prescription For Pain Relief
We all have different kinds of pain at different times of our lives. Whether that pain is due to trauma, sports injuries, degenerative changes, inflammation, or stress, acupuncture and other Oriental Medicine (OM) techniques are proven to help alleviate pain.
In most cases we do not need to use dangerous and addictive drugs to treat pain. Acupuncture, gua sha, cupping, and tui na (oriental massage and physical therapy) relieves pain by moving blood that is stagnant after a trauma or injury.
Acupuncture, herbs, tui na and qi gong (therapeutic exercise) help to get qi and blood to a degenerating area to rebuild it, or at least slow the degenerative process to relieve pain.
OM techniques help to quell the fire of inflammation. Changes to diet and lifestyle can stop inflammation from recurring and relieve the pain associated with inflammation.
And last, but certainly not least, OM techniques can help to reduce stress. When we are stressed we make poor decisions and are more vulnerable to accidents and injuries. Acupuncture can help to access our relaxation response, our parasympathetic nervous system. I have treated hundreds of Veterans, survivors of sexual assault and other patients diagnosed with PTSD and seen them deeply relax with one or two small needles, even when they didn’t think it would help. Qi gong and tai chi can help support and strengthen the parasympathetic system.
In September of 2017 the National Association of Attorneys General requested America’s Health Insurance Plans to encourage their members to cover acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic and other non-pharmaceutical approaches to the elimination and management of pain. View Article
The America’s Health Insurance Plans’ response
The overuse of highly addictive medication has created an opioid crisis in our nation. OM techniques are safe, effective and evidence based treatments for pain. If we use them first, we could reduce opioid addiction. OM techniques have been used for decades by recovering addicts to help support detox and abstinence. Encourage your insurance company to support OM care for you and your family.
Margaret Sheehan, Licensed Oriental Medicine Practitioner (LOM)
