Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Back Pain

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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Back Pain
Laurie Morse, L.Ac.
Ward Gypson, M.D.
SpineUniverse.com


Why do so many suffer from pain, specifically low back pain? This is a question that patients and doctors ask with varying degrees of frustration. IĖd like to provide an alternative angle of understanding low back pain through the model of Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system of medicine that has been practiced for several thousand years in the Orient and has gathered more acclaim in the last decade here in the West. TCM encompasses the modalities of acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxabustion, Tui Na or medical massage and often includes nutritional therapy and breathing therapy or Qi Gong.

In November of 1997 the National Institute of Health published a consensus statement stating there is, in fact, sufficient evidence to support the use of acupuncture (for some conditions). Though, further study of its physiology and clinical value was encouraged, promising results emerged regarding the efficacy of acupuncture in low back pain. IĖd like to also note that the use of acupuncture does not preclude the concurrent use of Western medical therapies and often, both are utilized to successfully treat a patient.

The Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine

When an individual is diagnosed with a Ïback problemÓ in Western medicine be it spondylosis, spinal osteoarthritis, prolapsed lumbar disc or muscular/ligamentous lumbar strain the focus is primarily on the lower back region and within the Western medical model the options become therapies like spinal surgery, physical therapy, pharmaceutical intervention and cortisone or epidural type injections. These are perfectly acceptable modalities but what if they donĖt alleviate the pain? And, what about the underlying cause for the back weakness in the first place? Can that underlying weakness be strengthened? Let us consider this possibility via Chinese medicine.

Though the system of TCM is logical and scientific in itĖs own way, it is a separate system from modern Western medicine and canĖt always be explained via Western medical logic. To include the successful ...