Acupuncture for Low Back Pain
- 11 hours ago
- 6 min read
The Magic of Acupuncture
The first time I truly experienced the “magic” of acupuncture was an auricular treatment for low back pain.
I was still in graduate school, we were learning the methods of ear acupuncture, also known as auricular acupuncture. Like many people, I have struggled off and on with low back pain - specifically pain in my sacroiliac joint and the surround the muscles. (The sacroiliac joint, or SI joint, is where the large triangular bone at the base of the spine called the sacrum meets the pelvis.)
On this particular day I was in quite a bit of pain when I arrived in class. We paired off and each performed an auricular treatment on our partner using the knowledge we had gained in the class term. My partner, another budding acupuncturist, gave me a treatment for sacroiliac pain. The treatment was simple, performed while we sat in classroom chairs without the need to disrobe or come anywhere close to my area of pain.
When he removed the needles, the sacral point bled (a common reaction in the ears) and I felt an immediate relief of pain in the right SI joint and low back. I was astonished. I rose to my feet, twisting this way and that. The pain was gone!
The moment illustrated perfectly the power of acupuncture to relief pain elegantly and efficiently.
As I continued with my schooling and then career, I have been fortunate to witness many moments like this in others. For example, one afternoon years later when I was working at BAC, one of my colleagues was experiencing debilitating low back spasms that nearly immobilized her. We administered the Battlefield Protocol, an auricular treatment for pain relief, and got her pain down quickly so she was able to drive home.
One of the best feelings in the world as a practitioner is watching a patient forget their cane after their acupuncture treatment because their pain is so much better walking out than walking in.
Ears, Fingers and Feet: Treating Low Back Pain Distally
There are lots of ways to treat low back pain with acupuncture. At BAC, we primarily use distal acupuncture points - acupuncture points that are located on the extremities, ears and scalp. These points are powerful, very safe, and easy to access while seated in a recliner without having to disrobe. The question many people have is this: how the heck does needling a point on my foot (or ear or hand) help my back feel better?!
It’s a good question, and there are several explanations.
I mentioned using points on the ear to treat low back pain. The ear is an amazing tool for treating the entire body, and a great example of imaging. Imaging is when one part of the body, or the entire body, is “imaged” onto another part of the body. The ear contains an image of the whole body. Your acupuncturist can needle the area corresponding to your complaint to achieve change. We will also often look for red or purple spots or veins on the ear, especially if they correspond to the area of pain.
There are also points on the ears that have more broad calming or analgesic effects, and these are often combined with anatomical ear points when we are treating pain.
In the case of points on the hands, feet, etc, an imaging technique may also be at play. Additionally, we use channel correspondences to pick effective distal points. For example if your low back pain is on the Taiyang Bladder Channel - which runs from the inner eye all the way over the head down the back and to the little toe - we might choose the point Small Intestine 3 (Hou Xi, Back Gulley Stream), on the Tai Yang Small Intestine channel to treat it. This point works well for several reasons, the Small Intestine and Bladder Channels are paired and have a strong connection. Also the hand can be an image of body just like the ear, with SI 3 in the area of the low back.
We also use points on the same channel as the pain but “downstream” from it - a point on the Bladder Channel on the foot is effective to clear pain in the low back, especially when combined with a point like SI 3.
If your head is spinning from this dive into acupuncture theory, that’s okay! You don’t have to worry about it - your acupuncturist spent years studying and then more years practicing to get all this stuff dialed. You just have to close your eyes and relax.
One final note on acupuncture for pain.
Acupuncture has a relaxing and sedative effect. It has been shown to release natural painkillers in the brain and increase the availability of dopamine and serotonin, which helps improve our mood and well-being. From a Western medical perspective, this is in part why acupuncture reduces pain and stress, though a full explanation of exactly how acupuncture works from this standpoint has yet to be achieved.
Acupuncture for Low Back Pain: Getting Started
I began this article talking about instant results. While it’s true that acupuncture often helps people feel better right away, not all acupuncture for back pain results in immediate and complete relief. Sustained change takes time and consistency, especially when we are dealing with chronic low back pain.
After one treatment you might feel relaxed, calm and even pain free, but it is likely your pain will return. Most of the time people need 4-8 acupuncture treatments at a frequency of 1-3 times per week to make sustainable change.
In more chronic or severe conditions it may take several treatments before you experience relief.
The cost of acupuncture can vary widely depending on where you seek treatment. BAC is a community acupuncture clinic, meaning we offer acupuncture in a comfortable group setting on a sliding scale in order to make the service accessible to as many people as possible. We recommend taking a look the guide to our sliding scale before coming in.
If you are ready to get started with acupuncture treatment at BAC, click here to schedule your first appointment.
At Home Tips & Tricks
If you don’t have access to acupuncture where you live, here are few tips for at-home back pain relief.
Number One: Heat it up!
If you’ve read some of our other blog articles, I may sound like a broken record, but I’ll say it again anyway: unless your back pain is acute, or red and swollen, heat, not ice, is your best course of action.
Ice may make the pain go down, that’s true. That’s because ice causes vasoconstriction and numbing of the tissues. This is a temporary solution, and will actually cause you more problems later. Cold causes contraction - think about how you shiver when you are out in the cold without a coat - and contraction is, guess what? Tension! And more tension will only make your back feel worse and increase the risk of injury.
Heat, on the other hand, promotes blood circulation, which promotes healing and allows your muscles to soften. Heat will often feel good on a sore or spastic low back if you give it a chance.
You can use a heating pad, take a hot bath with epsom salts, or use a traditional or infrared sauna. If you are local, you can schedule a 1 hour session in BAC far infrared sauna.
Number Two: Stretch and Strengthen!
Stretching and strengthening on a regular basis can go a long way towards reducing and preventing low back pain. Here’s a link to a free online yoga video that gently releases the low back. Yoga is a wonderful tool for treating back pain because, like acupuncture, it works with whole body to relief tension and reduce pain and stress.
Another important aspect of preventing low back pain is strengthening the core. Here is a
short hands-free core strengthening video. It’s best to work on the core when you are not in acute back pain.
Thank you for reading this introduction to acupuncture for low back pain. I hope this article was helpful!
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See you recliner-side soon!
