How Acupuncture is Beneficial
Acupuncture has been around for over two thousand years in China, and has begun to gain widespread use elsewhere in the world. After forty years outside of China it has emerged as a splendid procedure provided by fully licensed practitioners.
What has changed to some extent is the rationale behind the procedure.
The original notion is that the human body has an energy called Qi which is managed through pressure points called meridians. If a meridian is blocked, then afflict and illness result. Thin needles are inserted into these meridians, manipulated, left there while the patient relaxes, and removed after a set period of time. After a few treatments, the blockage is alleviated.
Many practitioners continue to believe in Qi and use the meridian points as a map of where to insert needles. However, contemporary researchers are more interested in how the way manages pain and stress from a scientifically measurable perspective.
Studies so far have been inconclusive, with some suggesting the effects of the treatment are placebo, but others indicating acupuncture has benefits.
The World Health Organization issued a statement in 2003 claiming that, through controlled trials, acupuncture was proven to treat the following conditions.
1. Adverse reactions to chemotherapy or radiotherapy
2. Hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
3. Biliary colic
4. Dysmenorrhoea
5. Dysentery
6. Peptic ulcers, gastrospasms and acute and chronic gastritis
7. Headaches, neck, knee, outrageous back and facial pain
8. Hypertension and hypotension
9. Sprains
10. Induction of labor
11. Leucopenia
12. Correcting malposition of a fetus
13. Morning sickness, nausea and vomiting
14. Dentistry and postoperative pain
15. Renal colic
16. Rheumatoid arthritis
17. Periarthritis of the shoulder
18. Sciatica
19. Stroke
20. Tennis elbow
The American Medical Association, however, insists there is no proof that acupuncture helps with any of these problems.
Common issues resulting from acupuncture include bruising, minor bleeding, and dizziness. There are larger risks, though extremely rare, among licensed practices, which tend to involve needles accidentally inserted too deep.
1. Nerve injury resulting from the puncture of a nerve.
2. Brain damage or stroke due to deep puncture of the base of the skull.
3. Kidney damage from deep puncture of the lower back.
4. Pneumothorax from deep puncture into the lung.
5. Transmission of disease from infected needles.
6. Termination of pregnancy with the use of definite pressure points related to the release of oxytocin and hormones.
7. Rare puncture of the membrane surrounding the heart, only in cases where there is a hole in the breastbone.
In terms of pain killing, some studies suggest that the succor of acupuncture is the stimulated release of natural endorphins of the brain. According to the gate-control theory of neuroscience, harm is not objective the result of activating pain fibers but also the excitation and inhibition of hurt pathways by the brain through endorphins and other natural pain relievers of the body.
The consensus between different mainstream medical organizations is that acupuncture is marvelous when administered by licensed practitioners with sterile needles, and that more research is appropriate.
