How Acupuncture Can Relieve Your Back Pain
Back pain is often caused by tight muscles. The muscles in your back get very tight and acupuncture can relieve this tightness. There are many acupuncture points on the lower back that can be used to relieve back pain.
Points on the bladder and kidney meridians affect your back. They open up the meridians that affect back pain. You can do acupuncture on Kidney 7, for example, and relieve back pain with that point alone. If you have super tight muscles though, you might want to get acupuncture on your back. You will typically feel relief with one treatment, but you will need several treatments to relieve all the pain.
There are points on the back called the "jiaji" points. They are about half an inch from the spinous processes of your spine. They are often used to improve circulation in your back. If you have low kidney energy, you might also have moxibustion used on you. Moxibustion is done by using an herb called Mugwort. This herb is rolled up and lit like a cigar and placed near your back. The heat penetrates into your back to improve circulation and strengthen your kidneys.
The smoke from moxibustion can cause allergies in some people. Often, acupuncturists become allergic to the smoke from using it so much and turn to moxa spray. The moxa spray has the same herbs as the regular moxa. The moxa spray is sprayed on the back and a far infrared heat lamp is used.
In about a month of acupuncture and herbs, your low back pain should be gone. It is best to combine acupuncture with Chinese herbs for a faster recovery.
Mugwort (moxa) is usually burned. You can get smokeless moxa, but it still has a smell. Fresh mugwort moxa can smell like marijuana! If you are around an acupuncturist and smell something weird, know that it is probably Mugwort. When I first got acupuncture in 1996, I thought my acupuncturist must be smoking in his office.
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