Although Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation has been offering acupuncture in our Red Bank, NJ office for some time now, it turns out there’s more to this practice than even I could have ever imagined.
Here’s an odd fact I recently learned: did you know that acupuncture for horses (yes, horses) is a common practice? Were you aware acupuncture has been used on horses for years and is on the rise these days?
Yes, Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation offers acupuncture in our Red Bank office. But no, Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation is not planning on offering this type of care to non-human patients anytime soon. I was, however, curious enough to look further into this to see what, if any, connection there was between human patients and those of the equine variety. In particular, I wondered if results in non-human patients could debunk this idea of a ‘placebo’ effect.
Many skeptics point to the placebo effect to explain successful acupuncture treatment. I sometimes think that most skepticism is really just a front that some people use to demonstrate their supposed intelligence.
The fact is, skepticism in the face of real, proven results makes very little logical sense. Acupuncture is being used everywhere these days with great results—from cancer wards to the battlefield, in cosmetic surgeons offices and in veterinary practices.
As with humans, equine acupuncture works by stimulating the nerve impulses as they travel along the spinal cord to the brain. This has the effect of releasing a number of different chemicals in the body such as endorphins and histamines in order to support the healing process while reducing pain and anxiety. Apparently, many horses become lethargic and sleepy from acupuncture treatments. I don’t find this surprising—even our most nervous acupuncture patients emerge from treatment looking far more relaxed and happy than when they went in.
Let’s take a look at a short list of human conditions that are treated by our Red Bank acupuncturist (click here for the full list):
What’s even better about acupuncture is that it is safe, painless, and doesn’t inflict any sort of damage on the body. At Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation, we recognize medication management as a short-term method of relieving pain during the rehabilitation process. But some pain is harder to treat, and we certainly do not want to see anybody taking any sort of painkilling medication for long periods of time. Aside from addiction risk (as with opioid painkillers), using any type of analgesic for an extended length of time presents serious health consequences.
I’m going to include over-the-counter drugs in this discussion as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin is the 14th leading cause of death in the United States.
Red Bank, NJ Acupuncture at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation
If you are suffering from any painful condition of the human variety—whether it is physical or emotional—please contact our Red Bank acupuncture office today. We also offer medical care for pain management, chiropractic, and physical therapy.
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