Pain is your body's way of saying something's off: physically, chemically, or neurologically. The right treatment depends on which one it is. Here's how to tell the difference, and how each option works.
Best for structural issues, like a neck or back that's out of alignment and limiting your range of motion.
Best for rebuilding strength, mobility, and muscle memory after surgery or an injury.
Best for calming pain signals and inflammation, and supporting the body's own healing response.
If your neck is out of alignment because you slept wrong and you can't get full range of motion back, a chiropractor visit will help. An early visit is best. If you wait, the surrounding muscles can settle into the incorrect position, which means more visits to correct it later.
From my own experience I use acupuncture points following a chiropractic adjustment to "set" or help hold the adjustment and reduce inflammation in the surrounding tissues, also kickstarting tissue healing.
Physical therapy is excellent for restoring strength, mobility, and proper movement patterns, after surgery, when muscles around a joint have weakened or a joint's motion has been restricted. Movement improves blood flow, and exercise releases endorphins, which can help you feel better and experience less pain along the way.
For low back or sciatic pain, including pain that radiates down your hip or leg, start by noticing your range of motion (the same goes for neck or shoulder pain). A provider can assess spinal alignment through palpation, which points toward chiropractic care. If your muscles need to relearn proper positioning and support, physical therapy may be the better fit. And when the goal is calming an overactive pain signal itself, acupuncture tends to help most.
A combination of these approaches works best. What you need, and how you respond to treatment, depends on other parts of your life: sleep, nutrition, activity level (walking counts), and how much time and energy you make for healing.
Ask yourself: Is your pain from a chronic, repeat activity or condition, or an acute, one-time occurrence for you? That impacts your duration of treatments to get your desired treatment effects of a pain-free outcome.
Acupuncture uses solid, hair-thin, sterile, single-use needles, nothing like a hospital needle used for injections. Inserting a needle at a specific point triggers a chain reaction: a chemical and neurological response that can help calm pain and inflammation while supporting your body's own healing process.
Here's the simple version: the needle stimulates your cells to release ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a natural signaling molecule your body uses for nearly every function. That signal reaches your brain and nervous system, which can respond by easing pain, calming inflammation, and supporting tissue repair.
One example of how effective acupuncture can be is with the treatment of phantom pain, pain felt in a limb that's no longer there. Patients have found measurable relief with acupuncture, since it can work on how pain signals are processed rather than only on the site of injury itself.
Acupuncture is one of the most effective options available for neuropathy, whether it's a side effect of chemotherapy, nerve damage, or nerve pain following shingles. Results vary from person to person; with a few treatments you will notice how your body is responding to treatments, and the path forward becomes more defined for your individual healing ability.
Acupuncture injection therapy (bioregulatory medicine) is another tool for treating pain, one aimed at supporting tissue healing and addressing the root cause, rather than masking symptoms. It's worth knowing that frequent cortisone (corticosteroid) injections can, over time, have a weakening effect on surrounding tissue.
When your pain goes away and stays away for 9 to 13 days, that's when you've graduated and your body has course corrected and is now on cruise control!
Chronic pain is frustrating and stressful, especially when there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Pain with no finish line often brings depression, frustration, and anger along with it. Those are normal, human, and appropriate emotions to an ongoing condition affecting your quality of life. Even the beginning of relief from pain, and the endorphin response that often comes with a quality acupuncture treatment, has a tendency to make people say, "This has given me hope, when I thought there was none."
That is my partial and biased opinion on why acupuncture for your pain is my favorite choice of the three treatments.
Should I see a chiropractor or an acupuncturist first?
If the issue feels structural, limited range of motion, a joint that's "locked up," start with a chiropractor. If it's more about pain, inflammation, or nerve signaling without an obvious alignment issue, acupuncture is the better starting point.
Can I do physical therapy and acupuncture at the same time?
The therapies work with each other and complement your healing process.
Does acupuncture hurt?
Not at all like a hospital hypodermic needle; nothing like a tattoo; and we have never made a baby cry (knock on wood). My own kindergartener would come home asking for her, "At choo punture because she had a so,so stressfull day!!":))
How many acupuncture sessions will I need?
Depends on how long you've had the problem, what may be exacerbating it and if you follow through with your treatment plan. Like anything in life, it is in the try and the follow though!
Not sure which one is right for you?
If structural alignment is needed start with chiropractic; if it's a muscular problem like atrophy or repair from surgery, PT may be in order; if you have pain and inflammation, acupuncture can lessen and shut off that signalling.
Individual results vary. Acupuncture supports your overall wellness in conjunction with your other healthcare providers. This content is for general education and is not a medical guarantee.