solid research
Jin Xianghong, director of the Acupuncture Institute of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that through research conducted over the past century, scholars now have a relatively deep understanding of the mechanism of action of acupuncture.
She added that Chinese scientists have accumulated a lot of information in studying the effects of acupuncture analgesia, acupuncture point sensitization, and acupuncture point stimulation.
In TCM, acupuncture points reflect the internal state of the body. When sick or injured, the corresponding acupuncture points become hypersensitive, exhibiting effects such as enlarged receptive fields, heightened pain perception, and increased heat sensitivity, which gradually disappear as the body heals.
In 2021, Harvard University professor Ma Qiufu co-authored a paper with Chinese researchers, including Jing, entitled “Neuroanatomical basis of electroacupuncture driving the vagus-adrenal axis,” which was published in the journal Published in Nature.
Since then, basic scientific research on acupuncture has once again attracted researchers’ attention, Jin said.
She added that based on existing research, it can be concluded that nervous system transmission and integration are essential for acupuncture to be effective. Neuroendocrine and immune networks serve as key carriers regulating the effects of acupuncture, and molecular biology provides an important basis for explaining the effects of acupuncture.
Simply put, research shows that the nervous system plays an important role in acupuncture. It relies on a network involving the nervous, hormonal, and immune systems. Molecular biology also helps explain how acupuncture works.
Last year, Professor Xu Nenggui and his research team from Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine published a summary of evidence mapping and systematic reviews on the effects of acupuncture in the British Medical Journal.
This study established the most comprehensive database and data matrix for clinical efficacy research of acupuncture to date, and recalculated the effect value of acupuncture for each disease. Although this paper suggests what kinds of diseases and conditions acupuncture has a great effect on, and what kinds of diseases and conditions it can be expected to be effective against, the team believes that further research is still needed. said Lu Liming, a member of the group.
Xu said the study will help acupuncturists and researchers make quick decisions in clinical practice and research.
According to Liu, the advantage of acupuncture is that because it is an external treatment, it is safer than taking medication and is effective in treating many conditions.
According to a study by Xu et al., acupuncture can have a significant effect on post-stroke aphasia, neck and shoulder pain, fibromyalgia, non-specific low back pain, vascular dementia, postpartum breastfeeding failure, and allergic rhinitis. It is said that there is a sex.
Dr. Yang is researching the effects of acupuncture on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, a common inner ear disorder that causes severe dizziness caused by sudden head movements. This condition is caused by small ear crystals becoming dislodged. He found that after a treatment commonly used to reposition crystals, five acupuncture treatments could effectively alleviate residual dizziness and ease anxiety about sudden recurrence. did.
Furthermore, based on rigorous randomized controlled trials conducted by researchers around the world, acupuncture has been shown to be effective in treating conditions such as chronic severe functional constipation, female stress urinary incontinence, and migraine headaches. It turns out, Jin said.
