Acupuncture heals digestive, joints and other disorders

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Acupuncture: A part of Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM

What is acupuncture?

• Stimulation of focal points on the body using a variety of techniques
• Ancient practice
• Stone based acupuncture needles used in 3000 B.C

The legend

Originated when soldiers injured by arrows found  relief of pain in other parts of the body

Evidence for efficacy of acupuncture

• A metaanalysis and systemetic review [Yu 2010] reported that effective response rate for use of acupuncture in asthma is better than the controls.
• A overview systemetic reviews of use of acupuncture in rheumatic conditions by Earnst and colleagues from Peninsula medical school concluded that acupuncture is effective in  relieving low back pain, osteoarthritis and elbow pain. 
• The Cochrane Database by Linde et al reported that existing evidence supports the beneficial effect of acupuncture for the treatment of tension headache.
• Pther conditions where studies ahve supported use of acupuncture include fibromyalgia, major depression and stroke rehabilitation.

Evidence based benefits of acupuncture in gastrointestinal conditions

• Nausea and vomiting
• Gastroparesis
• Functional dyspepsia
• Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS (possible benefit)
• Motion sickness (possible benefit)
• Constipation
• GERD

Pathogenesis of disease (The TCM concept)

• An  imbalance of yin and yang
• Vital energy does not flow through the body in an appropriately balanced pattern

Diagnosis of Qi status

• Weak
• Stagnant
• Imbalanced

Acupuncture points

• Lie along pathways of flow of qi,  the vital energy
• No anatomical or histological correlate of acupoints or meridians
• Defies plausibility because of difficulty reconciling with current  medical knowledge
• A complex web of interwoven  meridians/pathways may generate hundreds and even thousands of potential points
• Two healers may come to two different conclusions or points for application of acupuncture.

Determination of target acupuncture points

• Inspection of face especially tongue
• Auscultation with attention to body sounds
• Olfaction with attention to body odor
• Enquiry about fever, chills etc
• Palpation for tender spots 

Acupuncture for health maintenance versus healing of disease

• Acupuncture for tonification or strengthening of health require quick in and out insertion of needles
• Healing of complex diseases may require insertion much longer insertion times as long as an hour or more 

Cultural variations or types of acupuncture

• Classical Chinese
• Japanese acupuncture
• Tibetan acupuncture
• Vietnamese acupuncture
• Korean acupuncture  

Examples of variations in acupuncture

• Japanese use extremely thin needles for acupuncture 
• French  use acupuncture based on the modern neuroendocrine concepts 

Example of acupuncture sites for gastrointestinal illness 

ST36 (stomach 36 or Zusanli)

• Frequently used acupuncture point for treatment of gastric disorders
• Located in the leg
• Accelerates gastric emptying both in dogs as well as in humans 

ST-36 and PC-6 stimulation

• Increases  the threshold of rectal sensation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome or IBS
• Helpful in constipation [Lin 2009]

Acupuncture treatment

• Recreate balance by needles, pressure, heat etc acupuncture points
• Usually an average of  a dozen needles are inserted in each session 
• May take place over weeks to months 
• Some but not all insurance companies cover the cost of acupuncture treatment 

Modifications of acupuncture

Moxibustion

• Uses needles warmed by burning a combination of herbs

Acupressure

• Manual technique
• Utilizes physical pressure by hands/elbows instead of a needle puncture at acupoints .

Electroacupuncture

Modern version of acupuncture utilizing same acupoints

• May enhance positive effects of acupuncture
• Utilizes needles with continuous electric pulses
• Needles used in pairs to allow impulses to pass one needle to the other
• Has been referred to as Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS) 

Auriculotherapy

• Needle punctures of ears
• Different body systems represented in the ear
• Focal stimulation in the representative areas has systemic effects

Miscellaneous

Other variation of acupuncture employ use of low energy laser beams and magnetic forces may be applied to acupoints 

Biochemical basis of acupuncture as analgesic

Actions at  multiple levels depending upon the clinical state:

• Low frequency electroacupuncture activates the mu- and delta-opioid receptors by stimulating increased endorphins and cytokines
• Higher frequency electroacupuncture acts on the kappa-opioid receptor via dynorphin
• Endogenous opiates acts in conjunction with the serotoninergic descending inhibitory pathway for the analgesic effects 

Complications of acupuncture

• Rare but can be serious
• Bleeding
• Transmission of infections (hepatitis, HIV and bacterial)
• Pneumothorax
• Cardiac tamponade
• Spinal cord injuries
• May affect functioning of demand pacemakers 

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Suggested reading/sources 

1. Diehl DL: Acupuncture for gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary disorders. J Altern Complement Med 1999;5:27-45.
2. Larson et al: The effect of electroacustimulation on postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pain in outpatient plastic surgery patients: a prospective, randomized, blinded, clinical trial. Plast Reconstr Surg 2010; 125(3):989-94
3. Acupuncture: Wikipedia 

Comments

[Nana]

I love this post the comments as well. I am also a really great fan of acupuncture, mmy mother has had a minor stroke a year ago and I was devasted, because we tried everything the doctors recommended, we actually spent a lot of money on medicines until I met a guy who actually recommended acupuncture because his mother has been through the same thing, so we had nothing to lose we tried everything else why not try alternative medicine as he would call it. so it wwas 5 moths ago and my mom is fully cured from being half body paralyzed.