Both chiropractic and acupuncture can relieve back pain, but they work on different layers of the problem. Chiropractic targets the joint mechanics; acupuncture targets the pain signaling and muscle guarding around those joints. For most chronic back pain patients here in Jacksonville, combining both is what finally makes the difference.
The Structural Layer: What Chiropractic Does
When a lumbar or sacral joint stops moving the way it should, everything downstream compensates. Disc pressure shifts, nearby muscles brace around the restriction, and nerves can get irritated. A chiropractic adjustment restores motion to that specific joint, and that changes the whole mechanical picture.
Dr. Cody Muren selects the technique that fits your presentation: Diversified, Gonstead, Activator, or Thompson drop-table. There’s no one-size approach here. He picks what’s right for you on that visit.
The Neuromuscular Layer: What Acupuncture Does
Here’s the part that surprises a lot of patients: even after a joint is corrected, the paraspinal muscles guarding around it don’t automatically let go. They’ve built up their own persistent tension pattern, and that pattern will keep pulling things back out of alignment if you don’t address it directly.
Acupuncture signals the central nervous system to downregulate the pain response and releases that muscular guarding at a neurological level. It also addresses pain sensitization, the phenomenon where a nervous system that’s been amplifying pain signals for months (or years) just keeps doing it, even after the underlying structural problem is fixed. That’s a real issue for anyone who’s had chronic back pain for a long time.
Why One Approach Alone Wasn’t Working
One patient came to us after two years of chiropractic care at another clinic. Adjustments helped for a few days, then the guarding pulled everything back out. When Dr. Muren assessed him, the lumbar joints were restricted, but the paraspinal layer was in a chronic protective state that was undoing every correction.
We added acupuncture starting at his second visit. Within four sessions, the muscle layer stopped reverting. The adjustments held. His constant pain level of six dropped to a one or two that only flared occasionally.
Acute vs. Chronic: Which Do You Need?
- Acute back pain (recent onset): often responds quickly to chiropractic alone. Joint motion is restored, guarding settles on its own, and you’re back to normal.
- Chronic back pain (a year or more): almost always benefits from the combined approach. The structural and neuromuscular layers have both been compromised, and treating just one leaves half the problem in place.
At your first visit, Dr. Muren assesses both layers and tells you straight what he recommends, chiropractic alone, acupuncture alone, or both. No guesswork, no upselling. Call us at (904) 539-3352 or stop by 13770 Beach Blvd #4, Jacksonville, FL 32224.