Acupuncture for Neck Disorders

More and more current research is being conducted on the multitude of uses acupuncture has. For all of us in the Traditional Chinese Medicine community we already know that acupuncture is extremely beneficial to a variety of different medicinal problems. But, acupuncture and TCM are still in the early stages of being understood by the scientific community. In this 2016 study published by The Cochrane Review, researchers began to look at the link that takes places between acupuncture and the treatment of neck pain and disorders.

The study had an ambitious overall goal in determining what effects acupuncture has on the function, disability, and patient satisfaction of those with neck pain. By reviewing 27 different trials the researchers examined patients ranging from acute to chronic neck pain, and they compared studies receiving actual acupuncture to those receiving sham acupuncture.

Although the study found some limited results due to the variability of individuals studied, a few important conclusions were able to be drawn from the evidence.

For those who received actual acupuncture as opposed to sham acupuncture it was noted that they experienced both more effective long and short-term pain relief. In addition those who experienced actual acupuncture received noticeably better pain relief than those who did nothing at all.

If you are having anywhere from acute to chronic neck pain you should seriously consider coming into the clinic for some acupuncture treatments.

The most commonly used acupuncture points for neck pain are 

- Jian Jing (GB21): Particularly useful for muscle tension, headaches, and neck stiffness, located in the middle of the upper trapezius muscle.
- Feng Chi (GB20): Often used for neck pain, headaches, and fatigue, located below the occiput, in the hollow between the origins of the sternomastoid and trapezius muscles. 
- Tianzhu (BL10): This point is situated on the neck muscle and can help with neck pain. It is located 1.5 cun lateral to the lower border of T1.

Other points sometimes used for neck pain:
- Hegu (LI4): Located on the web between thumb and forefinger, can be used for general pain relief including neck pain. 
- Luozhen (M-UE-24): Found between the web depression of the second and the thrid fingers, can help with tension-related neck pain. 
- Xuanzhong (GB39): Above the ankle joint, 3 cun superior to the lateral malleolus's prominence.