spinal pain (cervical, thoracic, low back or butt pain)

spinal pain (cervical, thoracic, low back or butt pain) are usually caused by some irritation of a nerve root which causes it to get inflamed. It is easy for me to get rid of the inflammation and thus preventing either formation of bone spurs or degenerative disks in the future. I can do this both with or without needles, although using needles is usually quicker. Both acupuncture and electro-acupuncture can relax tight or spasmy muscles. Usually that will fix misaligned veertebrae instead of chiropractic. There are protocols in FSM that can help repair a damaged disk but not a bulging or ruptured disk. Stretching can sometimes help a bulging disk. Sometimes beck pain can be due to a rib that has gone out ( usually the floating ribs). In this case the joint and muscle attachments get irritated and inflamed and the offending muscles get tight. I can fix all that too. Low back pain is probably the most common thing an acupuncturist sees. The pain causes muscles to get tight which then causes it’s own problems. Basically the tight muscles pull on their attachments causing them to get inflamed and hurt. This usually occurs in the butt. Butt pain can also be caused by other problems that mimic sciatica. In about 25% of the population the sciatic nerve goes through the piriformis muscle instead of behind it causing sciatic like symptoms. Since the muscle overlies the hip joint it can often be mistaken for a hip problem as well. the only way to really know what is going on is by palpation, which doctor’s rarely take the time to do. And that is because they don’t really care or kneed to know because they will treat them all the same way: with muscle relaxers, pain killers and noninflammatories. But as an acupuncturist I need to know exactly what’s going on in order to treat it effectively. Now if your butt pain hurts especially when sitting, then it probably is the obturator muscle that is involved. Because when you sit, you squeeze that muscle between the seat and your hip bone thus causing it to get inflamed and hurt. The key to proper treatment is palpation so you will know what is going on and how to prioritize the treatment. One other thing that is worth mentioning is that in low back pain there are two additional causes of pain I haven’t yet mentioned. First and a very common problem is the Sacroliac (SI) joint. It is where your weight transfers from your trunk to your hips.It is most commonly irritated when you are bending or lifting while twisting. Lastly if the para-spinal muscles of the low back get tight the attachment at the hip can get sore.