Pain has become an all too prevalent problem in today’s society, affecting millions of people each year. It’s important to resolve the source of the pain and not just mask the symptoms. Biomedicine often uses various medications to alleviate pain. Unfortunately, these medications mask the pain and don’t get to the root of the problem that’s causing the pain in the first place. In addition, some of the medications prescribed lead to addiction especially when not used according to the doctors’ instructions. Does this mean taking an opioid will lead to addiction? When a person takes medication as directed by their doctor, it is not likely that a person will become addicted to pain killers. However, there are people with genetic predispositions who can become addicted to pain killers easily despite following the directions. The medical doctors don’t necessarily know exactly how each person will react to various pain killers. Fortunately, there are safe alternative means to releaving pain that also gets to the root of the problem as well. Acupuncture has become widely accepted among the medical community for its efficacy at relieving pain. Many people pursue acupuncture to alleviate their pain and experience additional benefits from better sleep to increased energy to improved mobility. In addition to acupuncture, additional therapies in East Asian medicine (aka Traditional Chinese Medicine) can help with pain as well. Cupping is known to improve microcirculation and reduce inflammation, while alleviating pain. Another therapy, known as gua sha, has a similar effect to cupping in relieving pain and can help boost the immune system as well. Various Chinese herbal formulas can help alleviate pain while addressing the underlying cause of the pain. A properly trained acupuncturist can determine the right acupuncture treatment and complimentary therapies when it comes to help alleviating a person’s pain. The added benefit is that these therapies are natural and safe. The only side effect one might have to worry about is enjoying how relaxed he or she feels during an acupuncture treatment.
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