Acupuncture Changes How the Brain Processes, Responds to Pain
While plenty of people who receive acupuncture for the relief of chronic pain swear by its effectiveness, the western medical community has long remained skeptical of this increasingly popular alternative treatment. More and more research studies, however, are confirming the idea that acupuncture has its place in western medicine. The latest, a study out of the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, suggests that acupuncture transforms the way the brain processes pain.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers led by Dr. Nina Theysohn from the University Hospital's department of diagnostic and interventional radiology and neuroradiology were able to observe the areas of the brain that typically deal with pain perception and response. By studying 18 healthy volunteers who received an electronic pain stimulus to their left ankles, radiologists discovered that when acupuncture needles were placed on the right side of the subjects' bodies, the activation of the brain's pain processing areas was substantially reduced.
Theysohn's findings were presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting Tuesday in Chicago.
The results of this latest study, though small, are no surprise to Dr. Daniel Hsu, a doctor of acupuncture and herbal medicine at New York AcuHealth. "This is just one more in a growing number of studies that confirm acupuncture helps with chronic pain," he told AOL Health Wednesday morning.
Hsu says acupuncture addresses pain in two ways. It stimulates the body to produce naturally occurring pain-killing chemicals, and it interferes with pain signals to the brain. "With chronic pain, it's a good front line of defense," he adds. "With (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), you have to take more and more for them to continue to work." He also points out that NSAIDs constrict blood vessels and can also be hard on the liver with continued use.
"When you receive acupuncture, you're not only decreasing pain but increasing blood flow," Hsu explains. "And because there are very few side effects, it can be tried in just about anyone."
Hsu says he receives many patients who have tried everything to stop chronic pain and seek out acupuncture as a last resort. Hsu says it varies from patient to patient how well acupuncture works. Some people see immediate relief after one treatment, while others have to receive continued therapy over a period of months.
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