WAbout 10 years ago, as the opioid addiction crisis began to surge in the United States, Dr. Medat Michael began talking to patients about ways to treat pain other than opioids, from other types of medications to alternative treatments. spent a lot of time.
As a pain management specialist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, I didn’t expect to completely stop short-term use of opioids because they work so well for postoperative pain. However, he wanted to recommend safer and more effective treatments.
Turns out it was acupuncture.
“Like any treatment, acupuncture does not work for everyone, but the majority of patients who try acupuncture experience relief from symptoms,” he says. “When we started looking at the research, we realized how much evidence there is behind this treatment and felt comfortable suggesting it as an alternative or complement to painkillers and other treatments.”
Anecdotal successes, research-backed results, and an increasing level of openness in the medical community have all boosted the popularity of acupuncture as a treatment modality. According to a 2021 World Health Organization report, acupuncture is the most widely used traditional medical practice around the world, and its popularity is growing in the United States. In 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began covering acupuncture for chronic low back pain for the first time.
Scientists don’t understand all the nuances of how it works, but research shows it can have significant effects in certain conditions. It also shows promise in other conditions.
What is acupuncture?
Kevin Menard, a sports medicine acupuncturist and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Sag Harbor, New York, says the goal of acupuncture remains the same today as it did thousands of years ago when it was first developed in China: to heal the body. The aim is to restore balance.
This practice is based on energy and energy. airflow through the body along a series of channels called meridians, just as nerves and blood vessels carry messages and blood to every system.
“According to Chinese medical theory, each meridian is associated with a specific organ, and inserting thin needles at specific points along these meridians brings about specific changes in the body, restoring homeostasis. “We can do that,” Menard said. This needle is not the type used to draw blood. They are very thin and flexible, almost like pieces of wire.
When placed along meridians, it is thought to cause reactions such as directing more blood and lymph to certain organs, and releasing muscles and reducing tension in joints and bones.. The needles may also stimulate nerves, fine-tuning the nervous system’s regulation to trigger a relaxation response and reduce pain, Michael said.
Menard says acupuncture is thought to stimulate the immune system and control inflammation, two effects that can benefit the entire body. Depending on the condition or injury, a single treatment may improve symptoms, but multiple sessions are usually needed, especially if the problem is complex or chronic, Menard says.
According to research
Research on acupuncture has been extensive, and to date, solid evidence supports the effectiveness of acupuncture for some, but not all, conditions. According to an analysis published in February 2022: BMJ A study that analyzed more than 2,000 scientific reviews on acupuncture provides the strongest scientific support for the effectiveness of acupuncture for post-stroke aphasia. Neck, shoulder and muscle pain. Fibromyalgia pain; breastfeeding problems after childbirth. Lower back pain; symptoms of vascular dementia. and allergy symptoms.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that acupuncture for pain relief tends to have the most evidence, especially for chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis, low back pain, and tension headaches. did. The NIH notes that a review of 11 clinical trials also suggests that acupuncture may help relieve symptoms associated with cancer treatment.
Sarah Weaver, an acupuncturist and massage therapist at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota, says this is an area of growing interest in the field. The university focuses on integrative health professions such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and traditional Chinese medicine. For cancer patients, sessions there focus on reducing nausea, numbness, tingling (called neuropathy), brain fog, loss of appetite, acute and chronic pain, and mood issues associated with cancer treatment. can do.
“Often cancer patients want to add complementary treatments that don’t interfere with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and that’s where options like acupuncture can help,” she says. “That’s why more health systems are incorporating this treatment into their integrative care options.”
What happens next in this field?
Acupuncture is far from a proven and accepted treatment for most conditions, even if they are promising. Part of the reason for this is that the supporting research may not be of high quality, and the field lacks standardized protocols for scientific evaluation, a recent WHO report found. did.
For example, one 2016 research review analyzed studies that investigated acupuncture for substance abuse and addiction. Among the 83 research papers included in this review, researchers examined the quality of the studies, the frequency of acupuncture treatments, how long the needles were left in the body during treatment, and which points along the meridians were used. , and other potentially important factors. This has made it difficult to assess how effective acupuncture actually is. Researchers also argue that the field lacks clear terminology and widely accepted consensus on the location of acupuncture points.
In the future, such issues should be made clearer and resolved to obtain recommendations from trusted organizations. International experts in the field are developing more clinical trials to prove the usefulness of acupuncture in patient care and to help healthcare professionals adopt best practices as more benefits become known. I’m asking them to be strict.
Future research directions include studying how acupuncture may affect hormonal regulation, such as reducing menopausal hot flashes and addressing menstrual irregularities. Research shows that acupuncture can increase estrogen and other hormones, making acupuncture increasingly popular for gynecological issues, Menard said. Some researchers have focused on studying the effects of acupuncture on fertility. Some small preliminary studies have shown that its use may be associated with earlier pregnancy and better outcomes in IVF treatment.
Acupuncture for mental health issues such as depression and anxiety is another major research direction, especially in terms of how these issues affect overall health. For example, chronic pain is often associated with symptoms of depression, so researchers are looking at whether acupuncture can address both pain and depression in people. Researchers are hopeful. Research published in journals in 2020 frontiers of neurology found that migraine patients who received acupuncture tended to have a lower risk of depression and anxiety and to use health services less frequently than migraine patients who did not receive acupuncture. .
As the evidence base expands, acupuncture is likely to continue to grow in popularity. Although acupuncture has been used for centuries, Menard says only in the last decade has there been a dramatic change in how Western medicine is accepted by both doctors and patients. Masu. Ongoing research efforts and increased interest from the health care system mean this treatment could become part of more conversations, like Michael did with his patients.
“At the end of the day, doctors want their patients to feel better, and many people are looking for non-pharmaceutical avenues to health,” Menard says. “In some situations, that tiny needle can have a big impact.”
