Acupuncture Techniques – March 6, 2015

Acupuncture Techniques for Pain Management –

Dr. Noah C. Erickson, D.C., Med, Ac.

Acupuncture is a 3,000-year old healing technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is the insertion and removal of needles to stimulate the innate healing potential of the body. It can be used to reduce pain, increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, increase range of motion, decrease muscle spasms, and promote relaxation for anxiety and panic disorders. It improves the body’s functions and promotes the natural self-healing process by stimulating specific areas on the body, referred to as acupuncture points.

The most common method used to stimulate these points is the insertion of fine, sterile needles into the skin. Needles may be inserted, manipulated, and retained in these points for a period of time. In 1997, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) documented and publicized acupuncture’s safety and efficacy for treating a multitude of health conditions. Modern research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, digestive and immune systems.
An effective acupuncture treatment for reducing pain in a localized region of the body is known as “Surround the Dragon.” In treatment, “Surround the Dragon” is a protocol of circling the area of pain with acupuncture needles to break the vicious cycle of pain. For those who have experienced a sports injury, a work-related injury, or are suffering from the over-use/repetitive strain injuries, “Surround the Dragon” may very well be the treatment that provides substantial relief. For example, in shoulder injuries, such as rotator cuff tendinitis and frozen shoulder, it is very common to have spasms of the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint which greatly limit full range of motion and generate continual pain. To release these painful areas, “Surround the Dragon” is often used as part of an effective plan of treatment that includes chiropractic adjustments, massage, and therapeutic modalities like ultrasound and electrical stimulation with ice and heat applications.

Many people develop trigger points from injured muscles over their lifetime, and seek relief of these painful areas through medicinal remedies, massage therapy, drugs, and injections. We offer another effective technique utilizing acupuncture needles called “dry needling.” Dry needling involves the use of a solid filament needle that when inserted deep into the muscle, mechanically disrupts the integrity of the trigger points. It also creates a therapeutic effect by blocking pains through the release of opiods. Dry needling is an important adjunct of musculoskeletal pain treatment in my professional practice. As many people continue to search for an all-natural and drug-free approach to pain, acupuncture techniques like “Surround the Dragon,” and dry needling are two safe and effective methods for treating trigger points and localized areas of chronic pain.