When Brenda Lowe first heard in the 1970s that her grandmother was seeking pain relief from an acupuncturist in New York City’s Chinatown, she was horrified.
“Why would she want to stick a needle in herself?” Leve remembers thinking. “It sounded barbaric.”
Today, Loew laughs off that reaction. She is an acupuncture teaching assistant at UC Medicine’s Osher Center for Integrative Health and has been practicing acupuncture for over 30 years.
Acupuncture is becoming increasingly mainstream, especially as more patients seek safer pain relief methods, she said.
“The opioid epidemic is a national public health tragedy that continues to escalate, which is one reason acupuncture is rapidly being incorporated into health services across the country,” she said. We advise making the most of non-pharmacological options, including acupuncture. ”
Current standard non-opioid treatments for managing chronic pain include COX2-selective and non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that have both analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. However, these drugs have side effects that can be detrimental to gastrointestinal and cardiovascular function, Dr. Loeb said.
A recent national survey by the National Institutes of Health found high rates of persistent chronic pain among U.S. adults. Almost two-thirds of people with chronic pain continue to suffer for more than a year, the study reported.
For decades, this treatment has been viewed with suspicion by many Western medical practitioners. In the 1970s, the first acupuncture clinic opened in New York City, and Nevada began to embrace acupuncture as a medical modality. As of January 2018, there are 37,886 licensed acupuncturists in the United States.
Small studies and meta-analyses have found acupuncture to be effective in treating arthritis, chronic pain, and palliative care for cancer. It has been shown to affect the immune system and circulation, Loeb noted.
Acupuncture stimulates neurotransmitters and promotes the release of endorphins in the body. Hair-wide needles are inserted into various parts of the body. Typically, about 10 to 20 needles are inserted and the session lasts 30 to 50 minutes.
In addition to chronic back and neck pain, Reve also receives referrals from patients suffering from gynecological pain, menstrual pain, knee pain, joint pain, and headaches. Long-term coronavirus patients are seeking treatment from acupuncturists for balance, brain fog, pain, stress and anxiety, she said.
Rabe acknowledges that acupuncture’s healing mechanisms are not fully understood.
“We know that there is a wide range of neural responses and that acupuncture stimulates the body’s own opioid peptides,” she says. “We also know that acupuncture affects blood flow, affects breathing, increases immunity, and appears to have an overall effect on every system in the body.”
“We live in a wonderful time where we can integrate the best of Eastern and Western medicine. Our ancestors, including my grandmother, had the wisdom to pursue such treatments to make people feel better. I had it,” Loeb said.
Written by Barbara Clements – 253-740-5043; bac60@uw.edu
