Acupuncture has often been associated with strange and exotic practices but while it’s quite different to conventional medicine. It’s been practiced around the world for centuries it’s scientifically and it’s a well-established therapeutic treatment on its own right now. While it’s well known that acupuncture involves needles there are competing theories about how it works.
Understanding Acupuncture: Perspectives from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Science
Traditional Chinese medicines believe that vital energy known as Chi circulates through channels or meridians in our bodies when she is blocked or deficient we get ill and acupuncture is used to regain the flow of Chi to restore health Western science on the other hand is not convinced of the existence of Chi all meridians and has different theories about how acupuncture might work scientist have shown that acupuncture interacts with our nervous system according to one theory inserting acupuncture needles triggers the release of natural painkillers and other chemicals which make us feel better and reduce our pain according to another popular theory acupuncture suppresses the way pain is transmitted through nerve fibers some nerve fibers transmit pain and other nerve fibers register sensations such as touch and pressure.
Read more about Effective Joint Pain Treatment with a Chiropractor in Jacksonville Florida
How Acupuncture Relieves Pain: Mechanisms and Evidence
Acupuncture excites the sensory fibers and blocks some of the pain signals from reaching our brain which helps to relieve pain finally acupuncture can work by affecting the place where the needles are inserted this may increase blood flow to the area which can promote healing and relax muscles that are very tight. While there are different theories about why acupuncture works it’s important to remember that there’s good scientific evidence that acupuncture can help relieve back pain as well as other painful conditions. Acupuncture is a real physical medicine based on real anatomy, not energy.
How acupuncture is said to work
Mainly many others say that Acupuncture is the practice of pricking the skin of tissues with fine needles. It’s usually used for pain relief although it’s claimed to have a plethora of other benefits. As I have told earlier the first definite description of acupuncture is from China over 2000 years ago and at the time it was believed that illness was caused when life force, known as qi, couldn’t properly flow through the body. Prodding certain points would clear the blockage and restore the flow of qi, causing the illness to subside.
Whether or not acupuncture works is controversial, and part of the problem is that it is inherently difficult to study scientifically. Acupuncture has been making a comeback since the 1950s as a tool for pain relief. It’s also used to treat depression, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, smoking addiction, chronic asthma, stroke rehabilitation, epilepsy, insomnia, morning sickness and glaucoma, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, and even colorblindness! It sometimes claims to treat all of these ailments that might be a red flag. Whether or not acupuncture works is controversial, and part of the problem is that it is inherently difficult to study scientifically. Some factors like the soothing nature of the acupuncture room are easy to control just turn up the light and cut out Careless Whisper. But the act of putting in the needle itself causes headaches for researchers. If the researchers know if the treatment is a placebo, it can affect their results.
Navigating Acupuncture’s Intricacies: Unveiling Stealth Needle Research
So in this case scientists have developed a sort of stealth needle to overcome this problem. It’s concealed in a sheath, and either goes in all the way or only pokes the surface. The goal is for the patient to believe the needle is in, and the researchers won’t know one way or the other. But even with these sham needles and with a plethora of research there is still considerable debate. A 2003 World Health Organization review of multiple acupuncture studies showed oodles. This review, however, omitted trials where sham acupuncture and the real thing had similar effects.
Examining Acupuncture’s Controversy and Effects: A Closer Look
Plus a majority of studies were published in Asian Journals and as Andrew Vickers of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine pointed out in a different review of acupuncture studies, “all trials originating in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were positive.” By comparison, 53% of reviewed trials in the US favored the treatment. More recent reviews have debunked acupuncture. A 2006 meta-analysis published by the Journal of Internal Medicine found that the results of acupuncture treatment couldn’t be differentiated from the placebo. But in 2013 a meta-analysis of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center authored by that same Vickers guy from earlier came out in favor of acupuncture finding it had an effect greater than the placebo, but concealed it was “relatively modest”. There have been 3000 trials of acupuncture there’s still no conclusive evidence that being poked with needles alone reduces pain or other ailments in a significant way or not. But the majority of people says that they always get relief from pain after visiting a local chiropractor.
What Acupuncture Actually Does Is
- Improve The Flow Of Oxygen
- Nutrients
- Blood
- Through the Blood Vessel System
- Nourish Every Cell of the Human Body
When there is a problem with Blood Flow to any area of the body that cannot function properly. The Body will not heal without Proper Blood Flow. Acupuncture causes your Blood vessels to dilate and increases blood flow to specific areas of the body to relieve pain, improve organ function and prevent aging. Acupuncture also works by stimulating the nervous system by activating nociception, sensory nerves, and proprioceptor fibers that travel from the skin to the spine and into the brain. Acupuncture Improves the nerve signal to your Brain and forces your brain to release opioids (natural killers) to shut off the pain signal and eliminate your pain.
Acupuncture Works by treating the 5 main factors that influence your health
- The flow of oxygen in your Body
- The flow of Blood in your Body
- The Health of Your Blood Vessels
- The Health of Your Organs
- The Health of Your nervous system
In short, acupuncture stimulates the body’s natural ability to heal itself! Acupuncture Treats an endless number of conditions either on its own or in conjunction with Chinese herbal medicine or other therapies.
About Author
Dr. Jeremiah Carlson is a licensed chiropractor serving the Jacksonville community. Dr. Carlson has been improving Jacksonville’s health for over 15 years. As a chiropractor with experience, Dr. Carlson is committed to finding the proper diagnosis while promoting optimal health and well-being of his patients. Following diagnosis he will evaluate for misalignments in the spine and then use chiropractic manipulation to correct them. Correcting spinal misalignments can reduce joint pain, relax spasmed muscles and calm overactive nerves. Dr. Carlson’s approach is to create balance between the joints, muscles and nerves to reduce or eliminate pain.
