Pain lasting more than three months is generally described as “chronic”. It is believed that after this period, the pain ceases to be protective, but, due to the persistence of the initial damage / inflammation, a chemical environment has been formed that now enhances it. The brain plasticity theory, which is the ability of the nervous system to change, depending on the stimuli it receives from the environment, explains part of the physiology of chronic pain.
Acupuncture has long been recognized as an effective treatment for chronic pain. In 2012, a study found acupuncture was better than no acupuncture or simulated acupuncture for the treatment of four chronic pain conditions, such as:
- Back and neck pain
- Osteoarthritis (“degenerative joint disease” or “wear and tear arthritis)
- Chronic headache
- Shoulder pain
Acupuncture and electroacupuncture are therapies that are most popular in all the pain clinics in the modern world.
References
Vickers AJ, Cronin AM, Maschino AC, et al. Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(19):1444–1453.
MacPherson H, Vertosick EA, Foster NE, Lewith G, Linde K, Sherman KJ, Witt CM, Vickers AJ. The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: a meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain. Pain. 2017 May;158(5):784-793.