Neck pain is experienced whenever there is a disruption of the muscles and tendons located between the head and shoulders. The interlinked arrangement of muscles and tendons in the neck is a complex system that is closely associated with the spinal column and its delicate network of nerve fibers.
It is because of this connection that neck pain and constriction often spreads beyond the neck and shoulders, traveling along the spinal column, causing upper back pain and tension headaches.
Neck pain can be the result of any number of factors, including; poor posture, repetitive movements, uncomfortable sleeping positions, and poorly designed work spaces.
Playful activities, such as sports that involve quick, snapping turns of the neck and back can also put stress on the delicately balanced musculature that runs up the neck to the jaw and base of the skull.
It only takes a small spasm of the muscles located between the shoulders and skull for the head to feel as if it is frozen in place. And, it is not until a muscle is strained, and the range of motion of the head and neck is limited or restricted, that we realize just how much we rely on the neck for observation of the world around us.
When we lose the ability to turn our heads, we are forced to turn the whole body in order to see what's going on behind us. We are also limited to using eye movement to see what's going on above us, to the sides, and below the neck. Something as simple as backing a car out of a parking space can become a painful and complicated task as we are forced to rely more heavily on peripheral vision and rear-view mirrors.
Acupuncture Treatments for neck pain go much further than the temporary relief provided by aspirin, pain killers, or physical therapy. Acupuncture targets the root cause of the issue, and can help ease the tension and imbalance in the neck muscles, thereby reducing both mild and severe neck pain. Acupuncture remedies and medical massage techniques can help to release knots from the muscles and reduce inflammation in the connective tissue around the neck and head.
The application of precisely placed, hair-thin acupuncture needles by an acupuncturist for neck pain can greatly help to reduce neck pain and lessen swelling and inflammation.
Acupuncture can be a highly effective form of pain therapy, especially when used in combination with topical herbal medications, medical massage techniques, relaxation and breathing exercises, and other forms of natural therapies. And, acupuncture often succeeds where traditional medical modalities have failed.
It is always best to consult with a medical doctor when suffering a neck trauma, but more and more Western medical practitioners are now applauding the benefits of acupuncture and referring their neck trauma patients out for acupuncture treatments. Most doctors will be more than happy to recommend acupuncture, only asking that you return for occasional progress checkups.
Robert Vena
NJ Acupuncture
Of all the Eastern disciplines, the ancient art of acupuncture carries the greatest reputation for easing physical discomfort.
There's a bulk of undeniable proof showing just how effective acupuncture can be at providing pain relief. Research and studies have shown how this complementary practice benefits many of the physical issues that plague our overworked bodies. Trained practitioners use carefully placed needles to relieve tension in sore muscles and ease pain from injuries.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for over two millennia. It has become a highly respected form of therapy here in the West, accepted by the World Health Organization (WHO), and taken seriously enough to become part of the wellness regime for professional athletes.
Ignore for a moment the reasons why acupuncture is such a potent tool for restoring health and energy, and focus instead on how it brings balance to every system of the body, including those that affect the mind and spirit.
Depression remedies come in many forms, but drugs are a constant companion to those remedies, chemical prescriptions that treat the worst of the symptoms. The problem with drugs is the dullness they bring to the mind, as well as some potentially serious side effects. Sometimes they don't even work, the dosage has to be adjusted, and there's always the fact that many of us simply aren't comfortable popping pills that are capable of altering the way our brains work.
How much better it would be to to treat the sadness and despair of depression using a complementary method such as acupuncture! Practitioners of this time-proven art have already demonstrated acupuncture's place in working alongside counseling to treat the bleakness and despondency of this condition.
Again, the medical mechanism in action isn't as important as the effectiveness of the treatment. Some schools believe that the placement of needles on certain points around the body stimulate a releasing effect of chemically active substances from the brain. Endorphins are activated in the center of the brain. Serotonin and dopamine, other key substances responsible for reducing depression, are produced and taken up by the brain, creating a feeling of well-being.
Stress relief treatments use these feelings of well-being as an anchor for patients, as a foundation to build a new life free of anxiety. Counseling techniques may use cognitive treatments and visualization exercises to slow the effects of tension, but it's the administration of acupuncture, a non-drug treatment, that brings new levels of balance, harmony and relief. As depression remedies go, the practice of acupuncture is a hard to deny aid in chasing away the dullness of a depressive state.
One of the problems of chronic stress is the many ways it can manifest. We seek to control it, but we are only limited in our success. Stress finds its way to the surface as anxiety and muscular tension. When it becomes unbearable, we begin to collapse internally, using obsessive rituals to maintain a semblance of control.
Stress relief treatments employ counseling and drugs to control these feelings, not so different from depression, and an acupuncture practitioner uses the same careful manipulations of needles, precise placement on known points of the body, to trigger biological mechanisms that stimulate the parts of the brain responsible for relaxation.
East meets West with the application of counseling and acupuncture. Studies will continue to show exactly how and why this ancient technique is so effective, and acupuncture practitioners will continue to explain how blockages of energy can be released, allowing harmonious chi to flow again. But, whether or not you believe in bio-activated brain chemicals or energy centers of the body, the results are what count, and acupuncture excels as one of the best stress relief treatments and non-drug solution depression remedies.
Robert Vena L.Ac.
NJ Acupuncturist
Acupuncture-in-NJ.com
