How Common is Back Pain?
Back pain is one of the most common reasons for acupuncture and dry needling treatments.
Acupuncture and dry needles can help address both the acute pain symptoms and the underlying problems associated with back pain.
Back pain has many causes and we usually, to assess structural imbalances that may be contributing to back pain by palpating the associated muscles and releasing trigger points and taut tender points that contribute to back pain.
If desired, back pain treatment can incorporate electroacupuncture, heat lamp therapy, herbal medicines cupping, and more.
Most patients see significant improvement in pain level and mobility after 3-5 treatments, but some patients see improvement after the first treatment.
Causes of Low Back Pain
- Poor Posture
- Weak Muscle (Back, Abdominal, Gluteal)
- Muscle Tightness and Trigger Points
- Excessive Sitting
- Excessive Twisting, Bending, or Extension of the Back
- Disc Problems
- Scoliosis and other Structural Conditions
- Acute Trauma
- Common Trigger Points in Low Back Pain
Acupuncture helps to release trigger points in muscles that can cause low back pain (on a case-by-case basis). These are the most common muscles with trigger points that cause back pain:
- Quadratus Lumborum– Lumbar stabilizing muscle, hikes up the hip, laterally flexes back, and extends spine- Lumbar stabilizing muscle, hikes up the hip, laterally flexes back, and extends spine
– Lumbar stabilizing muscle, hikes up the hip, laterally flexes back, and extends spine - Gluteus Medius – Abducts hip and internally rotates femur
– Referred pain in low back, sacrum, lateral hip, or
– Paraspinal
muscles (iliocostalis, longissimus, spinalis, multifidi)
– Extend back and help with side bending
– Pain referral into low back, posterior hip, SI joint - Psoas & Iliacus– Flex hip and extend spine
– This muscle is accessed from the front of the body, but pain may refer to the lower back, sacrum, and anterior thigh
– Rectus Abdominus
– Flexus and rotates spine
– While this muscle is on the front of the body, trigger points can refer to the mid or lower back
