You Need To Consider Doing This If Your Back Pain Is Not Improving With Acupuncture

Back pain is one of the most common health issues people experience, and it can significantly affect your daily life. Whether it’s caused by muscle strain, poor posture, injury, or degenerative conditions, back pain can be debilitating, making even simple tasks like sitting, standing, or bending difficult. For many, chronic back pain can reduce mobility, affect work performance, and lead to emotional frustration.

Living with back pain can become overwhelming, especially when it persists despite various treatments. For those struggling to find relief, acupuncture may offer a solution worth considering.

Acupuncture: A Popular Approach to Treating Back Pain

Acupuncture, a central component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has been used for centuries to alleviate pain, including back pain. This treatment involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body to stimulate energy flow (qi), reduce inflammation, and promote natural healing. By addressing both the symptoms and underlying imbalances in the body, acupuncture can help relieve pain and restore function.

While acupuncture can be effective for many individuals with back pain, there are times when it may not provide the relief you need, particularly if the root cause of the pain hasn’t been accurately diagnosed. Without understanding the cause, treatments may only alleviate symptoms temporarily, rather than resolving the issue at its source.

Why Getting a Clear Diagnosis Is Crucial

Back pain can arise from a variety of underlying causes. Here are five common reasons for back pain:

  1. Muscle Strain – Overuse, sudden movements, or poor posture can strain the muscles in the back.
  2. Herniated Disc – A slipped or ruptured disc can press on the spinal nerves, leading to sharp pain and discomfort.
  3. Degenerative Disc Disease – Age-related wear and tear on spinal discs can result in pain, stiffness, and reduced flexibility.
  4. Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction – Dysfunction or inflammation of the sacroiliac joint at the base of the spine can cause lower back pain.
  5. Spinal Stenosis – A narrowing of the spinal canal can put pressure on the nerves, causing pain, numbness, and weakness.

In addition to these common causes, there are two less common but potentially serious causes of back pain:

  1. Fractures – A fracture in the spine can cause intense pain and limit mobility.
  2. Infections or Tumors – Rare infections or tumors in or around the spine can lead to significant back pain and should be addressed immediately.

The Need for Imaging to Get a Precise Diagnosis

It’s essential to understand that back pain cannot always be accurately diagnosed through symptoms alone. Imaging techniques such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans are necessary to determine the underlying cause of the pain. These tools allow healthcare providers to examine the spine, muscles, and surrounding tissues, providing a clear picture of what’s happening and guiding effective treatment.

The Pain Relief Clinic: Your Partner in Finding a Clear Diagnosis

At The Pain Relief Clinic, we have over a decade of experience helping people with back pain. We offer a non-invasive, comprehensive approach to diagnosing the root cause of your pain and providing effective treatments. If you’re dealing with back pain and haven’t found lasting relief, we can arrange for affordable scans, typically within one working day. Medisave can often be used to cover the cost of these scans, making it more affordable for you.

We also assist with insurance claims, including accident insurance, travel insurance, and company insurance, ensuring that you can access the care you need without additional financial stress.

Once we have a clear diagnosis, we can offer targeted treatments to address the root cause of your back pain, helping you regain your mobility and quality of life.

Ready to take control of your back pain? Send us a message today to arrange an appointment and begin your journey toward lasting relief from back pain.

What To Expect When I Visit The Pain Relief Clinic

A typical visit will involve our doctor first understanding your medical history, concerns and previous experience with other pain treatments.

For patients who have consulted many people but have yet to receive a clear diagnosis, selecting an affordable imaging scan might be recommended to confirm the cause of your pain..

Some patients have already done scans with other doctors for their pain condition but are still not clearly told what they suffer from.

Dr Terence Tan is happy to offer you a second opinion and recommend how best to manage your condition.

We also see patients who already have a confirmed diagnosis from specialist pain doctors, but are "stuck” because treatment options offered are not practical or acceptable.

We can help by discussing options that you might have potentially never been told of.

A common experience is when a patient has already consulted a specialist doctor for pain management and is told to consider orthopaedic surgery which they find too aggressive.

Or they may have seen doctors for their pain and were prescribed painkillers with potential side effects which made them feel uncomfortable.

Many of our patients have also first tried complementary treatments or acupuncture with traditional Chinese pain doctors.

They look for a second opinion after finding any relief experienced from other treatments to be temporary or requiring repetitive treatments, which add up to time and cost.

Especially in such situations, we emphasize using non-invasive medical technology you likely have not been told about .

This can make a big difference to your results.