Acupuncture
originates from China
and has been practiced there for thousands of years. Although there are records of acupuncture
being used hundreds of years ago in Europe, it was during the second half of
the twentieth century it began to spread rapidly in Western Europe, the United States and Canada.
Acupuncture
involves the insertion of very thin needles through the patient's skin at
specific points on the body - the needles are inserted to various depths.
The medical community is not in conclusive agreement about how acupuncture
works scientifically. However, we do know that it does have some therapeutic
benefits, including pain relief and alleviation from nausea caused
by chemotherapy.
According
to traditional Chinese medical theory, acupuncture points are located on
meridians through which gi vital energy runs. There is no histological,
anatomical or scientific proof that these meridians or acupuncture points
exist. Acupuncture remains controversial among Western medical doctors and
scientists.
Creating
case studies that use proper scientific controls is difficult because of the
invasive nature of acupuncture - a clinical study involves and compared to
the targeted treatment. It is very hard to devise a sham acupuncture control
that one can compare to proper acupuncture. While some studies have concluded
that acupuncture offers similar benefits to a patient as a placebo, others have
indicated that there are some real benefits. This article in a
peer-reviewed British Medical Journal explains that the principles of
acupuncture are firmly grounded in science, and you don't need Chinese
philosophy either to make it work, or to practice it.
According
to WHO (World Health Organization) acupuncture is effective for treating 28
conditions, while evidence indicates it may have an effective therapeutic value
for many more.
People
with tension headaches and/or migraines may find
acupuncture to be very effective in alleviating their symptoms, according
to a study carried out at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Another
study at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found that twice
weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia
- severe dry mouth - among patients treated with radiation for head and
neck cancer.
How does
acupuncture work?
Traditional
Chinese medicine explains that health is the result of a harmonious balance of
the complementary extremes of yinand yang of the life force
known as gi or chi. Qi is said to flow through meridians
(pathways) in the human body. Through 350 acupuncture points in the body, these
meridians and energy flows may be accessed. Illness is said to be the
consequence of an imbalance of the forces. If needles are inserted into these
points with appropriate combinations it is said that the energy flow can be
brought back into proper balance.
In
Western societies and several other parts of the world, acupuncture is
explained including concepts of neuroscience. Acupuncture points are seen
by Western practitioners as places where nerves, muscles and connective tissue
can be stimulated. Acupuncture practitioners say that the stimulation increases
blood flow while at the same time triggering the activity of our own body's
natural painkillers.
How is acupuncture treatment carried out?
Acupuncture
generally involves several weekly or fortnightly treatments. Most courses
consist of up to 12 sessions. A visit to an acupuncturist will involve an exam
and an assessment of the patient's condition, the insertion of needles, and
advice on self-care. Most sessions last about 30 minutes.
The
patient will be asked to lie down, either face-up, face-down or on his/her
side, depending on where the needless are inserted. The acupuncturist should
use single-use disposable sterile needles. As each needle is inserted the
patient should feel them, but initially without pain. However, when the needle
reaches the right depth there should be a deep aching sensation. Sometimes the
needles are heated or stimulated with electricity after insertion. Once
inserted, the needles will remain there for about twenty minutes.
What
are the health benefits and risks of acupuncture?
The
possible benefits of acupuncture are:
1. When
performed correctly it is safe
2. There are
very few side effects
3. It is a
very effective combination treatment
4. It is
effective in controlling some types of pain
5. It may be
considered for patients who do not respond to pain medications
6. It is a
useful alternative for patients who do not want to take pain medications.
The
possible risks of acupuncture are:
1. It is
dangerous if the patient has a bleeding disorder
2. It the
dangerous if the patient is taking blood thinners
3. There may
be bleeding, bruising and soreness at the insertion sites
4. The needle
may break and damage an internal organ (very rare)
5. Unsterilised
needles may infect the patient
6. When
inserted deeply into the chest or upper back there is a risk of collapsed lung (very rare).
Acupuncture
Benefits:
1. Helps
Reduce Headaches and Migraines:
In
2009, after researchers from the Center for Complementary Medicine at the University of Munich reviewed over 11 studies
involving 2,137 acupuncture patients, they concluded that acupuncture “could be
a valuable non-pharmacological TOOL in patients with frequent chronic
tension-type headaches.”
The
review looked at multiple clinical trials comparing the effects of acupuncture
sessions to “sham” (placebo-type of acupuncture) sessions and to receiving no
treatment at all for the relief of migraine headache pain. In
particular, both the group that had needles randomly placed and the group
that had strategically placed needles experienced a reduction in headache
symptoms. The control group did not experience any change.
However,
in the follow-up survey, the group that had the real acupuncture
treatment continued to have both a decrease in the number of
headache days and headache pain intensity.
2. Improves Chronic
Pain:
Including
for the Back, Neck, Knee or Arthritis Pain Acupuncture was proven to be more
effective for improving chronic back pain than no acupuncture treatment in
a 2006 study done by the University Medical Center of Berlin. In patients with
chronic low back pain, there was a significant difference in pain reported
between groups of patients receiving acupuncture over eight weeks versus those
not receiving any treatment.
Even
more impressive is a 2012 study done by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Department of
Epidemiology and Biostatistics aimed to determine the effect of acupuncture for
four chronic pain conditions: back and neck pain, arthritis, chronic
headache and shoulder pain.
The
researchers reviewed clinical trials involving over 17,000 patients, and the
results showed that patients receiving acupuncture had less pain than patients in
the placebo control group for back and neck muscle aches and
pain, osteoarthritis, and chronic headaches. The conclusion was that
acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is “more than
just a placebo effect, therefore it’s a reasonable referral option for
doctors.”
3.
Helps Treat Insomnia:
Beijing
University of Chinese Medicine conducted large meta-analyses in 2009 that
showed a beneficial effect of acupuncture on reducing insomnia symptoms,
compared with no treatment. The analysis found that in patients who were taking
medications or herbal treatments to help with sleep, adding acupuncture
therapy showed better effects than taking the medications or herbs alone.
Another
benefit was that unlike many sleep medications, the acupuncture sessions had no
adverse side effects at all.
4.
Improves Cancer and Chemotherapy Recovery:
According
to the National Cancer Institute, several studies show that acupuncture can
help boost immunity and speed up recovery following cancer treatments.
One randomized trial, for example, found that acupuncture treatment enhanced
immunity, platelet count and prevented a decrease in healthy cells after
radiation therapy or chemotherapy when compared to receiving no acupuncture.
Researchers
reported that the patients in both acupuncture treatment groups also
experienced less pain from treatments, improvements in quality of life and a
decrease in various negative side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea.
5.
Helps to Prevent Cognitive Decline:
Some
early research has showing new information about the effectiveness of
acupuncture on Parkinson’s. Studies show that can relieve age-related cognitive
decline symptoms as it generates a neural response in areas of the brain — such
as the putamen and the thalamus — that are particularly affected by Parkinson’s disease.
In
a 2002 study done by the Department of Neurology at the University Of Maryland
School Of Medicine, after 20 Parkinson’s patients
were treated with acupuncture for 16 sessions, 85 percent of patients reported
subjective improvements of individual symptoms, including tremor, walking,
handwriting, slowness, pain, sleep, depression and anxiety. There were no
adverse effects.
6.
Pregnancy, Labor and Postpartum Health:
Many
doctors are now recommending acupuncture as a treatment to reduce stress,
balance hormones, and ease the anxiety and pain of pregnancy and labor.
It’s
considered a safe treatment for many of the common symptoms during pregnancy —
to ease the physical and emotional strain on the body — as well as after the
baby is born to help with any mood, depression, mental or physical symptoms the
mother may experience. It can even be used right before the baby is due to prepare the body for labor.
