Back surgery and Acupuncture

[concerned]

I had a back surgery ( Microdisectonomy l5/s1) 4 months ago and still I have pain in my back and my surgeon told me that it could be due to the scar tissues. I would like to have accupuncture treatment. could any one who is experienced with accupuncture or specialist advise me if is it posible to have accupuncture treatment at this stage.

Thank you in advance
Concerned [/list][/b]

[Sensei]

Acupuncture is a proven treatment for back pain. Visit a local registered Acupuncturist and see if they can help.

[drv]

[chiropractor]

Chiropractor is useful for backpain, see few notes:

Back pain — How well does chiropractic care stack up against more conventional treatments?
For many people, low back pain follows a fairly predictable course. Nagging back pain lasts a few weeks — maybe letting up temporarily when you take a pain reliever — and then it goes away.

So where does chiropractic care fit into the picture? That's up to you to decide.

What the research says
Clinical trials indicate that chiropractic care is as safe and effective as conventional treatments — which may include pain medication, rest or exercise. But that may not be saying much. Low back pain typically improves within a matter of weeks, even for people who seek no treatment at all.

Low back pain is often caused by injuries or strains, and there's no magic cure. It simply takes time for your back to heal. But treatment of some type — either chiropractic or conventional — might make you more comfortable as you wait for this healing to occur.

What does a chiropractor do?
Chiropractic treatment is based on the concept that restricted movement in the spine may lead to pain and reduced function. Spinal adjustment (manipulation) is one form of therapy chiropractors use to treat restricted spinal mobility. The goal is to restore spinal movement and, as a result, improve function and decrease back pain.

During an adjustment, chiropractors use their hands to apply a controlled, sudden force to a joint — pushing it beyond its normal range of motion. The joint's movement may be accompanied by a popping or cracking sound.

Chiropractors may also use massage and stretching to relax muscles that are shortened or in spasm. Many use additional treatments as well, such as ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation and exercises

[Sensei]

There is alot of information and good research about the Acupuncture treatment for back pain located on this site at this link here.

The largest research study on back pain ever conducted used Acupuncture as the treatment.

My personal opinion on Chiro is that it is great for a subluxated (dislocated) vertebrae as this may cause problems. If there are no subluxations then there would seem to be no real benefit in having any treatments (manipulations).

The Chiropractic model is also very business based and is focussed on trying to have the clients have treatments 3-4 times a week for a month, sometimes even more.

From the feedback that I receive from my clients it would seem that the manipulations people receive from their Chiro seem to flare things up.

Chiro has been around for just over 118 years, Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine has been around for thousands.. YOU DECIDE!!

[dw]

chiro is a good modality to have around. i often refer people that are having problems with dislocated vertebrae.

i'd like to see more research to support alot of their claims of fixing common conditions that are *not* related to a sublux.

[dragonmonk]

Agreed. Chiro involves manipulation of joints in order to correct misalignment, subluxation, etc. However, one has to consider why a vertebrae, or any other joint is out of alignment in the first place. This can be due to muscle spasm (among other reasons) pulling the joint out of alignment. A chiro then forces the joint back into position [usually] without dealing with the muscle spasm that is the cause. The spasm then pulls the joint back out, the chiro forces it back in, inflammation follows.

The majority of chiros either don't incorporate massage, or do not do a thorough massage.

Acupuncture can be great for back pain, depending on the primary cause. I would say give it a go, 3 treatments later evaluate, and if it is not helping at all, try something different.

[tripledragon]

I would definitely recommend an osteopath before a chiropractor. Osteopathy is more holistic, bigger picture medicine. Soft tissues are always deeply palpated before joint manipulation is effected. Chiropracty has a history of getting people in for 10 minutes, cracking the requisite joints, but doing nothing for the underlying cause. On top of that is the practice of charging $80 for 10 minutes, once per week for two years, payment for entire course is often encouraged. That's thousands of dollars for prescriptive, symptomatic treatment.
I would recommend acupuncture, moxibustion, deep massage for scar tissue, stretching daily and osteopathy if joint manipulation is needed. Qi Gong - particularly horse stance with hands focusing energy on the lower dantien - with slow deep breathing, coupled with gentle hamstring stretches is particularly effective for managing lower back pain without outside intervention.

[yinyangthang]

Before we go turning a forum into a soapbox on which to bag other health modalities, we should remember that each modality brings with it a different angle in which to view a health problem. Of course, within these modalities (including acupuncture!!), there are practitioners who are more business minded, or just not that good at it.

Remember that even TCM has manipulating therapies within tui na, and that these techniques have a place within the TCM framework. Its just that they are not taught in Australian TCM courses. That's fine - we have osteos and chiros with which to refer should we need them. I suggest finding such practitioners in your area and meet with them, maybe swap treatments,, so that you know what kind of practitioner they are. I've found that in some conditions, my acupuncture treatments have been assisted by concurrent chiro treatments, and have developed good working arrangements with these practitioners.

Also, there are some chiros who work on psycho-emotional disharmonies based on the theory that different vertabral levels related to different emotions. Sound familiar? It's called network chiropractic and doesn't use the ol' clunking treatment that we normally associate with this modality.

So lets learn from each other and respect what each of us can offer our patients.