Acupuncture

WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE?

Acupuncture is a therapeutic method that involves inserting hair-thin needles into the body at various specific points to encourage healing. As one of the branches of Chinese Medicine, its history can be traced back 5,000 years. Some of the earliest artifacts related to acupuncture are stone needles found in Mongolia that date back to 3000 B.C.E.. Classical needles were also made of fish bones, bamboo, bronze, and gold. Today’s needles are much smaller, sterile, disposable, and made from stainless steel. While the tools may have evolved, modern day practitioners still base their diagnosis and treatment on the theories set forth in ancient texts. It is this enduring tradition and clinical refinement that makes Acupuncture well suited to today’s patient. Rather than treating a specific disease, Chinese Medicine has always treated the individual who’s experiencing that disease and takes into account all the unique differences in how that condition manifests. It is this personalized, investigative method that has made Acupuncture one of the world’s oldest medical practices across the globe.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Acupuncture’s growing prevalence in the west has spurred much research. However, it is important to note that attempting to study its methods in the current scientific paradigm will fall short of presenting the brevity of its effectiveness. Through centuries-old wisdom and clinical experience, practitioners know that selecting a particular point will create a particular effect. But once you combine that point with another, the effect changes. This continues with every point chosen and produces different outcomes in different individuals based on their specific constitution and pattern of imbalance. In practicing Chinese Medicine, there are a multitude of relationships that are taken into consideration based on thousands of years of observation and use that make it difficult to study using modern methods and terminology.

Western science is still trying to determine just how acupuncture “works.” Here are some of the current theories:

-Immunity Theory - Acupuncture increases white blood cell count and has a regulatory effect on the immune system. Studies were conducted where patients’ blood was collected before and after an acupuncture treatment. White blood cells were significantly increased in the acupuncture group versus the control. Acupuncture also raises levels of specific hormones, prostaglandins, gamma globulins, and overall anti-body levels. If you are immunocompromised or just want to maintain your health, acupuncture can supplement your body.

-Gate Control Theory - Acupuncture interrupts the transformation of pain by a part of the nervous system that regulates the impulse. Stimulation from an acupuncture needle strategically overloads the neuron and closes this “gate” which reduces pain transmission. This explains how acupuncture anesthesia can allow doctors to perform surgery on patients while they are awake. 

-Neurotransmitter Theory - Acupuncture increases serotonin and norepinephrine by modulating higher brain functions through the regulation of central nervous system. This release of endorphins after acupuncture can explain how acupuncture treats pain and produces such a calming effect. Increased serotonin can help with depression, anxiety, addiction, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Additionally, serotonin levels are affected by sugar intake and may be a factor in the cause of sugar cravings. Norepinephrine is a stress hormone that regulates our fight or flight response. Increased norepinephrine not only relieves pain but suppresses nervous tissue inflammation due to infection, traumatic brain injury, toxicity, and autoimmunity. Acupuncture also enhances the activity of endogenous opioid peptides, dopamine, ACh, and inhibitory amino acids. 

-Endorphin Theory - Acupuncture stimulates secretions of endorphins in the body, especially enkephalins which block pain signals in the spinal cord. This release of natural pain killers can be up to 200 times more powerful than morphine. The relaxing effect of endorphins have also been shown to regulate blood pressure. 

-Circulatory Theory - Acupuncture affects the constriction or dilation of blood vessels and reduces inflammation. Research using Color Doppler Imaging (CDI) which qualitatively evaluates blood flow in real-time concluded that acupuncture greatly increases blood flow. Healing in the body is greatly assisted by increased blood flow to the area as oxygen-rich blood and nutrients have a therapeutic effect. Acupuncture points have a greater density of sensory nerve endings. Molecules at these endings influence the widening of blood vessels and consequently lowers blood pressure. The release of vasodilators, such as histamine, are especially helpful for allergic conditions. Almost all chronic diseases have at their core or are aggravated by inflammation. Reducing inflammation is not only important in treatment but prevention of disease and age-related concerns.

-Weight Loss Theory - Acupuncture regulates obesity-related hormones, reduces cravings, and improves digestion and metabolism. Research measuring the effectiveness of acupuncture on weight loss found that it increased hormones cholecystokinin and ghrelin (regulates hunger), while normalizing insulin (regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism) and decreasing leptin (regulates hunger and weight).