August 31, 2026
Recently, I was having a conversation with someone who was dealing with crippling chronic back pain.
During our conversation, I asked a simple question:
“Have you ever tried electroacupuncture?”
The answer was no.
But what surprised me wasn’t that they hadn’t tried it. It was the reason they hadn’t.
“I don’t believe in it.”
I was almost speechless.
Not because this person didn’t want to try electroacupuncture. Everyone has the right to make their own healthcare decisions. What caught my attention was that they had completely dismissed a treatment they had never experienced and weren’t basing that decision on an evaluation of the evidence, a discussion with a qualified practitioner, or even a personal experience.
And this isn’t an uncommon conversation.
As a Toronto chiropractor, I regularly meet people who are apprehensive about chiropractic adjustments. Some have never experienced an adjustment but have already decided that chiropractic “isn’t for them.” Others have heard a story from a friend, seen something online, or simply developed a negative opinion about the profession.
Ironically, I get excited when someone tells me they’ve never tried chiropractic care or electroacupuncture.
Why?
Because it means there may still be another opportunity for relief.
That doesn’t mean every treatment works for every person. It doesn’t mean chiropractic adjustments or electroacupuncture are miracle cures. And it certainly doesn’t mean you should blindly try every therapy available.
But there is a major difference between evaluating a treatment and rejecting it without investigating it.
Sometimes, that mindset may be one more thing keeping you stuck.
The Problem With “I Don’t Believe in It”
When you’re living with chronic pain, it’s understandable to become frustrated.
You’ve tried physiotherapy. You’ve had massage. You’ve stretched. Maybe you’ve tried cupping, exercise programs, medications or other approaches.
And yet the pain is still there.
After enough disappointment, it’s easy to develop a belief that nothing will work.
That belief can become:
“I’ve tried everything.”
Or:
“Nothing is going to help me.”
Or:
“I don’t believe in chiropractic.”
The problem isn’t skepticism itself.
Skepticism can be healthy.
The problem is closing the door before you have enough information to make an informed decision.
Current evidence does not suggest that spinal manipulation is a miracle treatment for chronic low back pain. Rather, the research shows that spinal manipulative therapy can provide outcomes comparable to other recommended conservative treatments, with evidence of small improvements in function and pain for some patients. The 2026 Cochrane review also emphasizes that the certainty of evidence varies and that treatment decisions should be individualized. Cochrane review on spinal manipulative therapy for chronic low back pain
That is actually a much more useful conversation than saying either “chiropractic fixes everything” or “chiropractic doesn’t work.”
The same principle applies to acupuncture and electroacupuncture.
A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis found that acupuncture used alongside standard therapy produced clinically meaningful reductions in pain and disability in adults with nonspecific chronic low back pain. PubMed: Acupuncture for nonspecific chronic low back pain
More recent research specifically examining electroacupuncture found greater pain reduction when it was combined with standard therapy compared with standard therapy alone, although the authors emphasized limitations in the available evidence and rated the certainty of evidence as very low. PubMed: Electroacupuncture for nonspecific low back pain
So no, you don’t have to “believe” in electroacupuncture.
You should simply be willing to learn about it and decide whether it is appropriate for you.
The Nervous System May Be a Missing Piece
One of the reasons I am such a strong believer in chiropractic adjustments and electroacupuncture is that both approaches can be understood through the lens of neuromodulation.
This is especially important when we’re talking about chronic pain.
Pain isn’t simply a signal coming from an injured muscle, joint or disc.
Your nervous system is constantly receiving, processing and regulating information from throughout your body. That includes signals from muscles, joints, skin and other tissues that travel through the peripheral nervous system and are processed and modulated through the central nervous system.
This is one reason why chronic pain can become complicated.
The original injury may improve, yet the nervous system can continue to produce pain.
That doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real.
It means the nervous system is part of the pain experience.
This is where I find the concept of neuromodulation so fascinating.
Rather than thinking exclusively about “fixing the painful spot,” we can also consider how a treatment influences the nervous system and the way the body processes sensory information.
How Chiropractic Adjustments May Influence the Nervous System
A chiropractic adjustment isn’t simply about “putting a bone back into place.”
Modern research is investigating how spinal manipulation produces effects through mechanical, neurological and sensory mechanisms.
An adjustment provides a controlled mechanical stimulus to joints and surrounding tissues. These tissues contain sensory receptors that communicate with the nervous system. In other words, the adjustment doesn’t just interact with a joint—it also provides information to the nervous system.
Research has found that spinal manipulative therapy can influence measures associated with pain sensitivity and pain processing. One randomized controlled trial in people with chronic primary low back pain found reductions in pain alongside changes in pressure pain sensitivity and pain-related psychological measures following spinal manipulative therapy. PubMed: Spinal manipulation, pain sensitivity and chronic low back pain
This is why I don’t view an adjustment simply as a mechanical technique.
I view it as a neurological input as well as a physical input.
And there are other potential benefits worth considering.
Two Additional Potential Benefits of Chiropractic Adjustments
1. Improved mobility and function
For some patients, spinal manipulation can help improve functional ability and movement. The latest Cochrane review found that spinal manipulative therapy may provide small improvements in functional status compared with other conservative interventions, although the certainty of evidence varies. Cochrane review on spinal manipulative therapy
2. Reduced pain sensitivity
The goal isn’t simply to make a joint “move better.” Chiropractic care may also influence how sensitive the nervous system is to mechanical stimuli. This is particularly interesting in patients whose pain has persisted long after the initial injury.
At my Toronto clinic, this is one reason I take a NeuroStructural Corrective approach rather than looking at pain in isolation.
The question becomes:
Why is this person’s nervous system continuing to receive and respond to these signals?
Electroacupuncture: Another Form of Neuromodulation
Electroacupuncture takes traditional acupuncture needling and applies a small electrical stimulation through selected needles.
And this is where the conversation gets particularly interesting from a neurological perspective.
The stimulation can activate peripheral sensory pathways, which can then influence processing within the central nervous system.
In simple terms:
Peripheral input → nervous system processing → modulation of pain.
That doesn’t mean we completely understand every mechanism involved. We don’t.
But research supports the idea that acupuncture and electroacupuncture can influence pain-processing systems, and clinical trials continue to investigate the precise mechanisms and optimal treatment parameters. PubMed: Electroacupuncture for nonspecific chronic low back pain
That’s why I don’t ask patients to “believe” in electroacupuncture.
I explain what we’re trying to accomplish.
We are providing a specific sensory stimulus to the nervous system and observing how your body responds.
Two Additional Potential Benefits of Electroacupuncture
1. Pain reduction
Systematic reviews have found evidence that acupuncture can reduce pain intensity in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain, particularly when used as part of a broader treatment strategy. PubMed: Acupuncture and chronic low back pain
2. Potential improvements in function
Pain and function are closely connected. When pain becomes less dominant, some patients may find it easier to move, exercise and participate in the activities they enjoy. Research on acupuncture for chronic low back pain has reported improvements in disability alongside reductions in pain. PubMed: Acupuncture for chronic low back pain
What About the Risk of Trying Something New?
This is where I want to be careful.
I don’t believe we should tell people that every treatment is completely risk-free.
But there is another risk that rarely gets discussed:
the opportunity cost of refusing to explore an appropriate treatment without understanding it.
If you have been struggling with chronic pain for months or years and have already tried multiple approaches, automatically rejecting another reasonable treatment option may mean eliminating a potential tool before you’ve even assessed whether it is appropriate for you.
That doesn’t mean you should try everything.
A Different Mindset Could Open a Different Door
If you are sitting at a desk on Bay Street all day with persistent back pain, or your neck hurts after hours behind a computer, or your body feels stiff after years of compensating for an old injury, you don’t necessarily need another opinion telling you to “just stretch.”
You may need someone to take a deeper look at how your body is moving and how your nervous system is responding.
At Dr. Mateusz Krekora Chiropractic Clinic, my approach combines chiropractic adjustments, NeuroFunctional Acupuncture, posture correction, mobility strategies and a NeuroStructural perspective to help patients understand their condition and develop an individualized plan.
And if you’ve never tried chiropractic adjustments or electroacupuncture, that’s okay.
You don’t have to believe in them.
You simply have to be open to asking:
“Could this be worth investigating?”
Because sometimes the mindset that says “I don’t believe in it” protects us from trying something unfamiliar.
But sometimes, it also keeps us from discovering something that could have been useful.
Chronic pain is complicated. There are no guarantees, and no single treatment works for everyone. But if a qualified healthcare professional believes a particular treatment is appropriate and the evidence supports considering it, don’t reject it simply because you’ve never tried it.
An open mind doesn’t mean believing everything.
It means being willing to investigate.
And when you’ve been in pain for long enough, that willingness could be the first step toward finding a different path forward.
If you’re curious about whether a NeuroStructural approach could be appropriate for your situation, I would be happy to discuss your case
.
Book your free 20-minute case review today and start feeling 25 again.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult a licensed chiropractor before starting any treatment.
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