Pain Management

Pain is no fun! Acupuncture can help. Acupuncture works in a variety of ways to help patients suffering with either short-term or persistent pain conditions.  Starting at the site of needle insertion, acupuncture facilitates the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), one of the body’s strongest endogenous vasodilated.  CGRP starts working on pain almost immediately by increasing blood flow to the region and bringing a variety of anti-inflammatory chemicals to the site of the pain. Needling also increases the presence of Nerve Growth Factors (NGF), helping to repair and regenerate damaged nervous tissue. In addition to having a local pain relieving effect, acupuncture also produces a systemic, or entire body, effect by activating the body’s endogenous opioid circuit, an innate pain-relieving system. Natural pain killers, known as endorphins, are released into the blood stream and work to relieve pain long after the treatment ends.