Some Evidence shows that, properly applied, Acupuncture can support pain relief and aid in faster healing of pain and injuries.
Acupuncture’s use for certain conditions has been endorsed by the United States National Institutes of Health, the National Health Service of the United Kingdom, the World Health Organization, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Some scientists have criticized these endorsements as being unduly credulous and not including objections to or criticisms of the research used to support acupuncture’s effectiveness.[24][25][26]
There are two types of Acupuncture that are typically practiced: Traditional, and Medical. Traditional is based on energy channels, called meridians. In traditional Acupuncture, there are 12 meridians in the body, 9 of which correspond to medical trigger points.
This article is about the other type, Medical.
Some types of pain, and the signals that pain sends to the brain, can actually be blocked/reversed by administering a small stimulation to the specific points in the body.
When the body has stimulation in certain areas it releases natural, internal chemicals that act like a natural pain killer.
There are actually three main ways acupuncture controls pain:
- Localized Pain Relief
- Generalized/Systemic Pain Relief
- Anti-Inflammatory Effect
Localized Pain Relief – When an acupuncture needle is inserted into a localized region of pain the nerve fibers that detect pain are stimulated. These nerve fibers will in turn generate an electrical impulse that is sent to the spinal cord. In the spinal cord, endorphogenic cells are stimulated to release endorphins (enkephalin/dynorphin). Enkephalin and dynorphin provide localized inhibition/blocking of the incoming pain signal. Blocking this signal decreases localized pain.
Generalized/Systemic Pain Relief – The same electrical impulse that is sent to the spinal cord when an acupuncture needle is inserted into a painful region of the body is also transmitted to a region of the brain called the Periaqueductal Gray. Enkephalin is released, which causes the release of monoamine neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine. Serotonin and norepinephrine in turn help suppress the transmission of the pain signal. Blocking this signal has a more generalized pain relief effect on the entire body. Serotonin also has an anti-depressant effect. Due to the high prevalence of associated psychological factors, this can be particularly beneficial for a chronic pain patient.
Anti-Inflammatory Effect – Lastly, acupuncture stimulates the release of beta-endorphins and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the pituitary gland into the bloodstream and cerebrospinal fluid. The beta-endorphins produce generalized/system wide pain relief and ACTH stimulates the adrenal gland to release cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol has well documented anti-inflammatory properties. Simply stated, reduce inflammation, reduce pain.
The combination of these three mechanisms can make acupuncture a very effective tool for treating both acute and chronic pain conditions.