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We understand that pain is complex and that every one of our patients experience and perceive pain differently – and that is ok because, our treatments are not based on a one-size-fits-all method.

We understand that your mind, body and nervous system interact with many other contributing factors that all influence the way your pain is felt.

At our Gold Coast Acupuncture clinic we take into consideration the following:

  • Your current thoughts, emotions or beliefs.
  • Your stress levels.
  • Any previous pain situations.
  • We like to know what/if anything was happening in your life when the pain started.

Your pain may have started in the following ways:

  • Cancer-related pain.
  • Auto-immune diseases.
  • Arthritis.
  • Chronic sporting injuries or falls.
  • Car crash.
  • Or you may be a sufferer of chronic pain and have never been given a diagnosis.

Can Acupuncture help pain?

Research recognises that Acupuncture can no longer be classed as a placebo effect (1, 2). Research conducted on patients with chronic pain found that patients who were treated with standard medical care (physiotherapy and anti-inflammatories) in combination with acupuncture treatments found that with the addition of acupuncture compared to standard medical care alone significantly reduced the number of headaches and migraine attacks and reduced the severity of neck and lower back pain (1). The report also showed that acupuncture reduced the pain and disability of osteoarthritis, which lead to patients being less reliant on pain medications/opioids or anti-inflammatories to control their pain levels (1). The trials involved approximately 18, 000 patients diagnosed with chronic pain of the neck, lower back, head and knee (1). Another significant finding is that Acupuncture is beneficial in helping chronic low back pain and is arguable the most important finding in the Acupuncture Evidence Project (2).  

Acupuncture may be effective for cancer pain, post-operative pain, aromatase inhibitor related joint pain and neck dissection pain and dysfunction, as well as opioid related constipation and pruritus and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and neuropathy; no assessment of quality of evidence (Lu 2013 - Narrative review) (3). 

Due to our treatments being designed to specifically suit you, we take into consideration your current dietary and lifestyle habits and also make you aware of any modifications that may benefit you. We like to make sure you are supported throughout your journey emotionally and understand the effects of maintaining a strong immune system. Our acupuncture treatments are gentle and may incorporate different techniques like moxibustion or cupping therapy with your consent. We also let you know of any associated side effects with any given treatment method (as pain can make your body more sensitive to treatments). We also encourage our patients to ask questions regarding their treatments. 

We work with you, with an aim to help reduce your pain through realistic timeframes with realistic goals. We can work with other health professionals that may be assisting you with your current pain. After all, we want to help you develop a pain management plan so you can get back to work or enjoying the things you love doing. You can give us a call on (07) 5515 0409 if you have any questions about how to get started with Acupuncture to help manage your pain condition; we look forward to providing you some support.

 

Research

Acupuncture for Sciatica: 

  • Lewis 2015 (Network MA of 21 interventions): Acupuncture ranked 2nd out of 21 interventions for global effect and effect on overall pain intensity (4)

  • Qin 2015 (SR & MA of 11 RCTs; 10 acupuncture vs medications; 1 acupuncture vs sham): Acupuncture may be superior to drugs and may enhance the effect of drugs for patients with sciatica; low quality evidence (5). 

  • Ji 2015 (SR of 12 RCTs): Acupuncture superior to conventional Western medicine in outcomes effectiveness, pain intensity and pain threshold; low quality evidence (6).

 

Acupuncture for Low Back Pain Relief: 

  • A review of 16 systematic reviews found that acupuncture alone, or when added to usual care, provided short-term improvement in pain and function for chronic low back pain (medium to large clinical effects) and hence should be advocated in routine clinical practice (7).

  • In a systematic review of 32 randomised controlled trials for acupuncture treatment of chronic non-specific low back pain, acupuncture was superior (both statistically and clinically significant) to sham acupuncture in pain reduction and improved function immediately after treatment (8). Acupuncture was equivalent but not superior to usual care in pain and function, but acupuncture plus usual care was superior to usual care alone (8).

  • For acute low back pain, the reviewers could not make firm conclusions about the effectiveness of acupuncture due the inclusion of only two systematic reviews (7). Two studies found that acupuncture is likely to be cost-effective for low back pain or chronic non-specific low back pain, respectively (9, 10).

  • Lam 2013 (32 RCTs; 25 in MA)(8): Acupuncture may be effective for pain and functional limitation in chronic non-specific low back pain: Evidence Level 1 Wellington 2014 (SR of non-invasive interventions)(11): High quality evidence for acupuncture; moderate quality evidence for acupressure

  • A systematic review of 11 randomised controlled trials on acute low back pain, acupuncture was superior to NSAIDS for improving symptoms (small effect), and superior to sham for pain but not function (12).

 

 References 

  1. Acupuncture boots effectiveness of standard medical care for chronic pain, depression, 2017, University of New York. Source:  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170130083228.htm.
  2. McDonald J, Janz S, 2017, ‘The Acupuncture Evidence Project: A Comparative Literature Review (Revised edition). Brisbance: Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association Ltd; 2017. Source: http://www.acupunctrue.org.au

  3. Lu W, Rosenthal DS. Acupuncture for cancer pain and related symptoms. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2013 Mar;17(3):321.

  4. Lewis RA, Williams NH, Sutton AJ, Burton K, Din NU, Matar HE, et al. Comparative clinical effectiveness of management strategies for sciatica: systematic review and network meta-analyses. Spine J. 2015 Jun 1;15(6):1461-77.

  5.  

    Qin Z, Liu X, Wu J, Zhai Y, Liu Z. Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Treating Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:425108.

  6.  

    Ji M, Wang X, Chen M, Shen Y, Zhang X, Yang J. The Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Sciatica: A Systematic Review. 

  7. Liu L, Skinner M, McDonough S, Mabire L, Baxter GD. Acupuncture for low back pain: an overview of systematic reviews. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:328196.

  8. Lam M, Galvin R, Curry P. Effectiveness of acupuncture for nonspecific chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2013 Nov 15;38(24):2124-38.

  9. Andronis L, Kinghorn P, Qiao S, Whitehurst DG, Durrell S, McLeod H. Cost-Effectiveness of Non-Invasive and Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Low Back Pain: a Systematic Literature Review. Appl Health Econ Health Policy. 2016 Aug 22.

  10. Taylor P, Pezzullo L, Grant SJ, Bensoussan A. Cost-effectiveness of Acupuncture for Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain. Pain Pract. 2014 Sep;14(7):599-606.

  11. Wellington J. Noninvasive and alternative management of chronic low back pain (efficacy and outcomes). Neuromodulation. 2014 Oct;17 Suppl 2:24-30.

  12. Lee JH, Choi TY, Lee MS, Lee H, Shin BC, Lee H. Acupuncture for acute low back pain: a systematic review. Clin J Pain. 2013 Feb;29(2):172-85.