The Science Behind Acupuncture Therapy Explored
For centuries, people around the world have used acupuncture to treat a wide variety of health problems, from chronic pain to stress, high blood pressure, digestive disorder, respiratory disease, and so on. While there is increasing scientific evidence that supports the therapeutic effects of acupuncture, what has been missing is the basic understanding of how it works and what makes it so effective. In connection with this, a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Medical Acupuncture presents diverse and insightful articles that shed light to the science behind this ancient method of healing.
Richard F. Hobbs, III, MD, in his article entitled “Basic Science Matters”, argued that the lack of understanding about the key mechanisms behind medical acupuncture is a deficiency that must be corrected. Understanding acupuncture in the same manner that we understand pharmacokinetics, according to Hobbs, enables us to match treatments better with conditions.
There has been a fine line that separate acupuncture from the modern science. Seeking understanding of acupuncture in the molecular level does not fully explain how the therapy works. In an editorial Basic Science: Mysteries and Mechanisms of Acupuncture," Richard Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a retired Air Force Colonel and current Director of the USAF Acupuncture Centre, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, suggests that natural events have both environmental and scientific explanations, which may give important clues as to how acupuncture really works.
For the past years, studies on the therapeutic value of acupuncture, especially on heart health, have been carried out in different parts of the world. In the review article written by John Longhurst, MD, PhD of the University of California, he described the effects of acupuncture to cardiovascular function. In his paper entitled "Acupuncture’s Cardiovascular Actions: A Mechanistic Perspective." Longhurst explained that stimulating certain acupoints activates the sensory neural pathways that project to a number of regions in the central nervous system (CNS), which in turn, regulate autonomic outflow and hence, cardiovascular function. He also explained how the therapy reduces high blood pressure, improves blood flow and relieves pain.
In another paper entitled "Pressure Pain Sensitivity and Insular Combined Glutamate and Glutamine (Glx) Are Associated with Subsequent Clinical Response to Sham But Not Traditional Acupuncture in Patients Who Have Chronic Pain", a group of researchers from University of Michigan, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School examined how patients would respond to traditional and sham acupuncture. For their study, 50 patients with fibromyalgia, a condition characterised by a heightened and painful response to pressure, were randomised to either sham acupuncture (SA) or traditional acupuncture (TA). They were blindfolded at each session so they would not know kind of acupuncture they received. The results show that patients with low sensitivity to pain had a significantly reduced clinical response to SA. The researchers concluded that pressure-pain testing may identify patients who are less likely to respond to SA.
Another article included in the special issue of Medical Acupuncture described the electrophysiological differences between sham and verum acupuncture. Findings suggest that there is an electrophysiological difference in the form of greater bioelectric potential amplitude when a proximal acupoint is stimulated and the response is measured at a distal acupoints along the associated meridian.
Taking a closer look at how acupuncture works, other than how effective it is, can provide solid explanations why until today, and despite the arrival of more modern medical technologies, acupuncture has never waned.
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