There’s no doubt about it, Arthritis is a legitimate concern, and it is sometimes challenging to treat. But, frequently, arthritis becomes a catchall for chronic aches and pains. It can often be a "garbage pail" diagnosis, which guarantees your pain is never accurately diagnosed or effectively treated.
So why do we do it? Honestly, because it’s easier than actually figuring out the problem. We live in a culture that has thought that pain is primarily due to bones for the last 100 years. So, no wonder a doctor will say your back or hip pain is arthritis – without even touching the area. Doctors are overworked, and it’s just easier and quicker that way. It’s understandable. And let's be honest, if you’ve had hip or neck pain for the last 10 years, your first thoughts are going to be arthritis, or subluxation, too. BUT, more often than not, your problem is muscular. In fact, at least 90% of the pain patients I see have MUSCLE pain, even if they once thought, or were told by their doctor, that their pain was due to arthritis. This is great news, because muscle pain is FAR EASIER to treat than pain coming due to the bones.
The bottom line: most pain is muscle pain, and acupuncture is hands down one of the most effective ways to treat it.
If you’ve ever thought, or been told, that you have arthritis of the lower back, hip, or neck, treat it with acupuncture anyway – more often than not, it is a muscle problem, and you’ll get better results than you would have thought possible, even if you’ve had chronic pain for years.
To paraphrase Travell and Simmons, the leading authorities on myofascial pain, the most frequently misdiagnosed pain patterns are arthritis of the lower back, hips, or neck, joint disease of the hips, and trochanteric bursitis. In point of fact, these are most often due to injured, weak, or overworked muscles and have nothing to do with the skeletal system. All of these muscle conditions can potentially be treated very effectively with acupuncture – maybe you’re not doomed to be in pain for the rest of your life. Isn’t it worth finding out?