Pain Management Because of their harmful side effects, drugs like Vioxx, Bextra, Celebrex, Aleve, and Naprosyn, are being named in specific consumer health advisories and warnings to medical physicians to "stop prescribing". There are many people who are suffering with severe or debilitating pain, whether from cancer, headache, back pain, or from some chronic, unexplained condition, are relying on medications such as Morphine, Codeine (Tylenol #3), Propoxphene (Darvocet), Hydrocodone (Vicodin), and Oxycodone (Percocet and Oxycontin) which can become very addicting. There are literally millions of Americans who have been relying heavily on these drugs to ease their pain and who are now wondering where they can go, and what they can do, to ease their chronic pain. Acupuncture is without question one of the most powerful pain-altering treatments in the world. Its reputation for pain relief is known and respected internationally. Acupuncture has no side effects, and studies have shown the pain relief it provides can last for months. Evaluation Of Your Condition We will use a Japanese system of evaluation which consists of a sophisticated computerized analysis of the 12 main acupuncture meridians, which will locate any abnormalities that are present that may be causing or contributing to your pain. Treatment Of Your Condition Treatments may consist of Chinese Herbs, needling of acupuncture points (most feel either a very mild discomfort or no discomfort at all with the needles), electrical or laser stimulation of acupuncture points, and possibly chiropractic adjustments to the joints of the spine and/or extremities. The total number of treatments varies. Some acute conditions may respond very quickly and may require anywhere from 1 to 6 treatments. Where as, some chronic cases may require a series of treatments to get you out of pain.   Our goal is to get you out of pain in the shortest number of treatments as possible. You may need some on-going supportive care, from time to time, to stay out of pain or to keep it under control.    “From our Patient Files”   Several weeks ago a patient came into the office with the complaint of chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia, which had been diagnosed some years earlier. The last several weeks had been much worse than normal, as the amount of pain was causing a loss of sleep and interfering with their normal daily activities. The major complaints were headaches, neck pain, upper back pain, and the inability to turn the neck or look up and down.   After diagnosing the condition through the computerized graphing system, it was determined that a total of 4 acupuncture points were to be treated. One on each forearm and one on each lower leg. (By the way, they didn’t even feel the needles being inserted and most people feel either no discomfort or very little discomfort).     After inserting all four needles, the patient was amazed at how quickly they started feeling better.  It took approximately 10 to 15 seconds before they realized just how different they felt. They were able to look up and down and turn their head from side to side with a 60% to 70% decrease in pain. We left the needles in for 30 minutes, at which time the patient was feeling no discomfort at all.   This is not a testimonial from one patient. However, it is something that we experience in our office on a regular basis. Acupuncture can be a very powerful tool in providing relief from all kinds of pain.   If you are suffering from acute or chronic pain, then I would suggest that you give us a try. You really have nothing to loose, other than your pain!!!