Acupuncture & Pain

The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as being effective for many ailments and conditions. The number one aliment is pain. The first well-known article by New York Times reporter James Reston wrote about how doctors in China used needles to ease his abdominal pain after surgery in 1971. After that, some studies have been done in the U.S., which shows that acupuncture helps relieve headache, migraine, tennis elbow, shoulder, neck, back, and tooth pain. In most acupuncture practices, the top common condition is pain. Acupuncturists recognize pain as a signal or alarm. It is the body telling you that something is wrong, and needs help.  Your body has the natural ability to heal itself. Acupuncture works by opening the energy pathways, stimulating the energy flow, and increasing your body’s natural healing nature.

Acupuncture doesn't just treat the signs and symptoms, it uncovers the source of your pain and corrects it. It not only can eliminate the pain, but it can eliminate the cause of the pain and prevent it from returning in the future.

The fact that acupuncture helps relieve pain is already well known by physicians and patients. In fact, most physician acupuncturists only use acupuncture for pain. Acupuncture is a time-tested, safe, effective and natural way to eliminate pain. Almost everyday we hear patients say: I already feel much better. I wish I came for treatments earlier.  If you have pain, and take Tylenol or Ibuprofen often, please start acupuncture as soon as possible.

Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) to release chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals either change the experience of pain or release other chemicals, such as hormones, that influence the body's self-regulating systems. The biochemical changes may stimulate the body's natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well being

There are three main mechanisms to explain how acupuncture affects pain:

Conduction of electromagnetic signals: Western scientists have found evidence that acupuncture points are strategic conductors of electromagnetic signals. Stimulating points along these pathways through acupuncture enables electromagnetic signals to be relayed at a greater rate than under normal conditions. These signals may start the flow of pain-killing biochemicals, such as endorphins, and of immune system cells to specific sites in the body that are injured or vulnerable to disease.

Activation of opioid systems: Research has found that several types of opioids may be released into the central nervous system during an acupuncture treatment, thereby reducing pain.

Changes in brain chemistry, sensation, and involuntary body functions: Studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones. Acupuncture also has been documented to affect the parts of the central nervous system related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes whereby a person's blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature are regulated.