Acupuncture’s role in modern medicine

Although both the philosophic and physiologic basis of acupuncture seems fanciful to Western medical thinking, the results obtained in the treatment of certain disease states cannot be lightly dismissed. In order to define the role of acupuncture in modern medical practice, a more scientific approach in both clinical and basic research is necessary. What can acupuncture treat? The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a report in 1996 on the efficacy of acupuncture, based on review of an extensive database of clinical trials. The conditions listed below are identified in the WHO report as having been proved through controlled trials, showing acupuncture to be an effective treatment, or for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown effective. In addition, according to the WHO (1996), acupuncture may be appropriate for “conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult.” These conditions include: • Chloasma • Choroidopathy, central serous • Colour blindness • Deafness • Hypophrenia • Irritable colon syndrome • Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury • Pulmonary heart disease, chronic • Small airway obstruction The NIH Report (1997) concludes: “Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.” How does acupuncture work and what are its benefits? Chinese Medicine considers that health depends upon the continuous and unobstructed circulation of blood and “qi” (pronounced “chee,” and often translated as “vital air” or “energy”) throughout the body. The genius of the ancient Chinese physicians was to discover that the tiny stimulus of inserting fine needles could regulate the flow of “qi” and blood and bring about powerful therapeutic effects by using the body’s own regulatory systems and self-healing potential. Stimulation of acupuncture nodes with needles, heat, pressure, electricity, or other means initiates a complex cascade of subtle but powerful neural, vascular, endocrine, lymphatic, and immunological responses that together result in: • Pain reduction • Muscle relaxation • Restoration of blood flow to limbs and organs • Normalisation of organ activity • Reduction of inflammation and swelling • Tissue and wound healing • Enhanced immune response • Increased joint range-of-motion • Stress reduction and mood enhancement The net effect of these processes restores both local and systemic “homeostasis:” the body’s normal state of dynamic, balanced function. General improvements in health status have been observed in conjunction with acupuncture treatment. For example, a study of 762 patients who received six acupuncture treatments in an outpatient setting showed significant improvements in seven of eight outcome measures (general health, bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, mental health, and roles-physical and -emotional) compared with a no-treatment control group. Is acupuncture safe and what about side effects? With modern sterile, single-use, disposable needles, acupuncture has an outstanding safety record. The NIH report states: “one of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions.” Rarely, patients experience temporary, mild worsening of symptoms before improvements begin to occur. Often the relaxing effects of acupuncture are so profound that patients feel a greater sense of well being and vitality. Source:The Guardian