Acupuncture has been employed as a healthcare modality for over 3000 years.

Practitioners of this ancient medical practice have experienced clinical success with a variety of health issues.  Today, acupuncture is receiving wide acceptance as a respected, valid and effective form of health care.

When most people think acupuncture, they are familiar with its use for pain control.  But acupuncture has a proven track record of creating and addressing a variety of endocrine, circulatory and systemic conditions.

Acupuncture and modern medicine, when used together, have the potential to support, strengthen and nurture the body towards health and well-being.

What is known about physiological effects of acupuncture?

Over the last few decades, research has been conducted seeking to explain how acupuncture works and what it can and cannot treat.

In 1997 National Institute of Health (NIH) Consensus on Acupuncture reports that “studies have demonstrated that acupuncture can cause multiple biological responses, mediated mainly by sensory neurons, to many structures within the central nervous system. This can lead to activation of pathways, affecting various psychological systems in the brain, as well as in the periphery.”

The NIH Consensus Also suggest that acupuncture “may activate the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, resulting in a broad spectrum of systemic effects.  Alteration in the secretion of neurotransmitters and neurohormones, and changes in the regulation of blood flow, both centrally and peripherally, have been documented.  There is also evidence of alterations and immune and functions produced by acupuncture.”

  Below our current theories on the mechanism of acupuncture:

1. Neurotransmitter Theory-acupuncture affects higher brain areas, stimulating a secretion of beta endorphins and enkephalins in the brain and spinal cord. The release of Nero transmitters influences the immune system and the antinociceptive system.

2. Autonomic Nervous System- acupuncture stimulates the release of norepinephrine, acetylcholine and several types of opiods, affecting changes in the turnover rate, normalizing the autonomic nervous system, and reducing pain.

3. Gate control theory- acupuncture activates non-nociceptive receptors that inhibit the transmission of nociceptive signals in the dorsal horn, “gating out painful stimuli.

4. Vascular- interstitial Theory-acupuncture manipulates the electrical system of the body by creating or enhancing closed circuit transport and tissues.  This facilitates healing by allowing the transfer of material and electrical energy between normal and injured tissues.

5. Blood chemistry theory-acupuncture affects the blood concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, and phospholipids, suggesting that acupuncture can both raise and diminish peripheral blood components, thereby regulating the body toward homeostasis.

According to a study published in the archives of Internal Medicine, 51% of medical doctors understand the efficacy and value of acupuncture, and medical doctors refer patients to acupuncture is more than any other alternative care provider.

The NIH Consensus on acupuncture further states that clinical experience, supported by research data, suggests “acupuncture may be a reasonable option for a number of clinical conditions.”

Evidence also points to positive clinical trials that “include addiction, stroke rehabilitation, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis, and headaches.” The consensus also mentions to acupuncture treatment may be helpful for other conditions such as asthma postoperative pain, myofascial pain and low back pain.

This ancient healthcare system is providing itself as an effective modality for a wide variety of problems.

So much that the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine(NCCAM) awarded eight grants that directly relate to acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medical research, totaling more than $9.5 million dollars.

“One of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions.  As an example, musculoskeletal conditions, such as Fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, and tennis elbow, or epicondylitis, are conditions for which acupuncture may be beneficial.  These painful conditions are often treated with, among other things, anti-inflammatory medications (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.) or with steroid injections.  Both medical interventions have a potential for deleterious side effects, but are still widely used and considered acceptable treatments.  The evidence supporting these therapies is no better than that for acupuncture.”

Acupuncture works as an effective alternative and adjunct treatment modality. It is a safe, effective, and natural approach to help regain and maintain health and well-being.