In addition to traditional Western medical treatments, some orthopedic clinics are also using certain features of Eastern medicine, like Acupuncture Hawaii, to help their patients who suffer from chronic pain. Patients may suffer from arthritis in their hands, knees, elbows, shoulders, ankles, or even in their backs. They may have a slipped disc, sciatica, a pinched nerve, fibromyalgia, or carpal tunnel syndrome. They may have suffered a sports injury, a work-related injury, or be suffering from the effects of a car accident.
Whatever the cause of their chronic pain, patients as well as their doctors tend to prefer non-invasive treatment plans first, and that is where Acupuncture from Portner Orthopedic Rehabilitation Hawaii comes in. Acupuncture is a safe method of treatment as long is it’s performed by someone who is trained and who is using sterilized equipment. It may involve needles, but it’s still much less invasive than surgery and doesn’t require any of the painful and long recovery time that patients experience after a surgery.
Acupuncture is considered an alternative form of therapy, and it may be used along with more traditional treatment methods, including the use of prescribed pain medication. The doctor may also have the patient go to physical therapy and receive massage therapy in conjunction with receiving acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture began in China, and it focuses on harmonizing the body’s natural flow of energy. The philosophy behind acupuncture is that energy flows through the body along meridian lines, which are invisible pathways, but any disruption in that energy flow results in pain or malfunction. Acupuncture targets injured areas and sends healing energy into those areas. The flow of energy in the body may be blocked and therefore uneven, and acupuncture is said to harmonize and equalize it.
When the acupuncturist targets the patient’s trigger points during a session, many patients say they feel not only pain relief but a release of chronic tension that may have built up in their muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments. This may be due musculoskeletal problems from a sports injury, a slip and fall, poor posture, or systemic disorders as well as orthopedic problems like bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, compression fractures, herniated discs, muscle sprains, and tendinitis.
