Choose Acupuncture as a Complementary Rather Than Primary Therapy for Lumbar Stenosis
If you suffer from lumbar stenosis, you know how your aching back can affect everything from your mobility, to your mood and energy. You may have seen your primary care physician to treat your pain with medication, physical therapy, or other back pain remedies. But your chronic low back pain still hasn’t gotten any better. With the pain becoming unbearable, you’re now considering alternative treatments like acupuncture. Does acupuncture help relieve pain from lumbar stenosis? How does it measure up to conventional treatments?
Acupuncture, an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine, has been practiced for thousands of years. In this practice, thin needles are inserted into the skin along meridians — pathways of energy flow. Manipulation of the needles with gentle movements, heat, or electrical impulses may be performed. The needles are left in the skin for anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes while you lie down and relax. Acupuncture is not painful, but you may feel a dull ache or sensations of tingling or warmth as acupuncture points are activated.
Acupuncture’s intended purpose was to restore healthy flow of the body’s energy force, known as Qi (pronounced “chee”). In doing so, all kinds of illnesses could be remedied. Since its adoption by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1997, acupuncture has become the most popular complementary and alternative medicine in America. It is most commonly used to treat pain conditions, but is also used for stress management and general wellness.
Acupuncture is theorized to stimulate the nervous system and muscle and connective tissues to signal and accelerate the body’s natural healing process. Incorporated in this healing process is the presumed release of endorphins, the body’s own natural painkillers. Acupuncture has been used to treat back pain conditions like lumbar stenosis with some success. However, given the lack of robust evidence to support its use over recommended treatments, acupuncture remains a complementary rather than primary treatment for lumbar stenosis.
What Kind of Doctor Can Provide the Recommended Treatments for Lumbar Stenosis?
If your pain is severe or significantly affects your life, you can’t afford to delay treatment. You may be worried spine surgery is your only option left. That’s where Pain Treatment Specialists comes in.
Pain Treatment Specialists are pain medicine doctors with specialized training in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of pain conditions, including back pain from lumbar stenosis. If you are looking for a premier pain management clinic, that accepts most health insurance plans, choose Pain Treatment Specialists. The pain doctors at Pain Treatment Specialists are Harvard-trained and board-certified with the American Board of Anesthesiology Pain Medicine. Moreover, they are trained in the most advanced techniques and procedures, including minimally invasive lumbar decompression, the gold standard treatment for lumbar stenosis. Pain Treatment Specialists clinics are located in New York City, and in Clifton, Paramus and Wayne, New Jersey.
Why Visit VIP Medical Group in NY or NJ?
Upon arrival at one of our clinics, your pain doctor will meet you for your scheduled consultation. At this time, he or she will have the opportunity to talk with you about your overall health and your specific pain symptoms. After getting to know you and your pain better, your doctor will perform a careful physical examination with attentive bedside manner. He or she may even order some lab tests, nerve conduction studies, or imaging studies, such as an x-ray or MRI. With this information, your doctor will be able to better assess your lumbar stenosis, and will work with you to find a treatment plan that’s right for you. A wide array of treatment options are available for lumbar spinal stenosis including those outlined below that only a pain specialist can offer.
Low Back Pain Treatments:
- Lumbar Epidural: Pain physicians administer lumbаr еріdurаl, a combination of a corticosteroid injection and local anesthetic medication, to treat low back pain for the short term. Pain relief begins within a few days and lasts for a few months.
- Lumbar Facet Injection: Corticosteroid injections delivered by a pain doctor into the facet joints of the spine can reduce pain and swelling of your low back for the short term. Pain relief begins within a few days and lasts for a few months.
- MILD Procedure: MILD, or “Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression,” is a special kind of procedure performed by pain physicians to treat lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). LSS is narrowing of the spinal canal that compresses the spinal cord and nerves of the low back. Local anesthetic (numbing medication) is used rather than general anesthesia. With a very small lumbar incision and imaging guidance, small pieces of bone and excess tissue are removed to decrease nerve compression. LSS produces lasting results, and is the gold standard treatment for lumbar stenosis
- Lumbar Radiofrequency Ablation: When other treatments fail to provide low back pain relief, pain doctors turn to radiofrequency ablation of the lumbar spinal nerves. This treatment involves lumbar spinal nerve block and removal using radiofrequency. It is performed at affected facet joints of the spine, and produces lasting results.
At the end of your visit, you will meet with a member of our billing department. She will help explain to you your treatment insurance coverage and benefits. Before any treatment is done, you will be given a detailed outline of how much you will owe (if anything). We will work directly with your insurance company to help you get treated as soon as possible. You can rest assured that there will be no surprise bills or hidden costs. Schedule an appointment with one of the best back pain medicine doctors in NY and NJ for management of your lumbar stenosis today.