Can Acupuncture Treat Fibromyalgia?

By Dr. Louis Jin - The Woodlands Acupuncture & Herbal Clinic  There are many times when a health concern causes visible symptoms, e.g., if you break your arm, you’ll likely have noticeable swelling and discoloration. But what happens when your condition is invisible? 

What do you do when the cause of your symptoms is hard to understand and even harder to treat?

That’s the reality for 4 million American adults living with fibromyalgia. Fortunately,  Dr. Louis Jin and Dr. Belinda He at The Woodlands Acupuncture & Herbal Clinic understand fibromyalgia and its peculiarities, and we offer a natural solution for many of your symptoms. 

Here’s what you should know about how to spot fibromyalgia and how acupuncture can ease your symptoms. 

The basics of fibromyalgia

We characterize fibromyalgia as widespread musculoskeletal pain that’s typically accompanied by other symptoms, including fatigue, sleep disturbances, and memory and mood issues. 

Though the exact cause isn’t quite understood, most believe that fibromyalgia stems from errant nerve signals affecting the way your central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord) processes and determines what real pain is and what isn’t. 

It’s possible that fibromyalgia begins after a certain event, such as physical trauma, surgery, infection, or severe stress. In other cases, fibromyalgia onsets over time with no trigger event. 

Fibromyalgia also often sets off other conditions, including headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

Typically, doctors treat fibromyalgia with a course of prescription medications that relieve pain, address mental health problems, and even prevent pain-related seizures. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling are other effective strategies. 

If you’re looking for a more natural way to address fibromyalgia or if you’d like to supplement your current treatment plan, choosing acupuncture is a safe, conservative, and effective option. 

Acupuncture and fibromyalgia

About 3,000 years ago, ancient Chinese healers discovered that the human body has flows of energy or life forces called qi. Your qi travels through various pathways in your body. If it becomes blocked or imbalanced, health problems inevitably ensue. 

To address this problem, acupuncturists carefully inserted thin needles into various points on the body. The needles reboot the flow of energy, and as a result, you feel less pain and see your condition improve. 

It may seem mysterious, but science backs up this ancient technique. Our bodies experience physiological imbalances due to various health problems, and acupuncture techniques are effective in restoring balance quickly and naturally. 

During the Spring and Fall, people often see us for various seasonal allergies, depression, or various auto-immune issues, or hormonal imbalances. But lately, some of our most dedicated patients have come to us (from even as far as Austin or San Antonio) to find lasting relief from intractable chronic pain, including fibromyalgia-related symptoms. 

What to expect from an acupuncture treatment

The thought of letting someone stick needles in your body might sound frightening, but rest assured, acupuncture is an incredibly safe and surprisingly pain-free experience when done by a seasoned acupuncturist like Dr. Louis or Dr. Belinda. 

During your treatment session, you typically lie comfortably on an exam table while we carefully insert the fine-point needles into specific locations on your body. You shouldn’t feel any pain but may notice a dull, aching sensation once the needle hits the right spot. 

Dr. Louis or Dr. Belinda may spend some time manipulating the needles after needles are inserted, but then you relax for 30-45 minutes with the needles in place under a soothing music light bath within a darkened room. 

Acupuncture is quite effective, but like the old adage "Rome wasn't built in 1-day" or "Your Body is not Amazon Prime, it takes more than two days to heal ", For most cases, patients do need more than one treatment to get the most out of acupuncture.