What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an additional medical therapy that stimulates certain points on the body, often using a skin-prick needle to relieve pain or help treat various ailments.

Developed in China thousands of years ago, many recent studies conducted by European and American scientists have shown that acupuncture is at least as effective in treating pain and nausea.

Specifically, one of the largest studies to date on acupuncture and chronic pain - a meta-analysis of 29 studies conducted on nearly 18,000 patients and published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine - shows Acupuncture is effective in treating chronic pain, so it is an option worth considering. "The significant difference between true acupuncture and" fake " suggests that acupuncture works more than a placebo," said the doctor, adding "this difference is only moderate."

According to Dr. Ting Bao, integrated oncology specialist at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Memorial Center in New York, the researchers also conducted studies to see whether acupuncture is effective in treating treatment. Depression, anxiety, cancer types and symptoms associated with cancer treatment.

Dr. Bao is seeking to use acupuncture as an additional treatment for breast cancer patients. According to Dr. Bao, most doctors-non-doctors-rescues do not believe this traditional Chinese therapy can cure specific diseases, such as diabetes or liver disease or other Kidney disease, like what is described by some practitioners in China.

The doctor said: "Currently, acupuncture has been used to reduce the side effects of cancer treatment or cancer-induced symptoms, but never directly cure cancer. Interesting if acupuncture can help prevent cancer, but I don't think research has reached that level. "

Acupuncture was around 100 BC.

How does acupuncture work?

Acupuncture dates back to about 100 BC , when a diagnosis and treatment system used first-time needles described in China. However, this therapy appears to have occurred before this record in history, according to Dr. Edzard Ernst, a research doctor specializing in complementary and alternative therapy.

But modern acupuncture therapy has changed dramatically since it was first introduced in China, according to David W. Ramey and Bernard E. Rollin describes the development of acupuncture in the book "Complementary and alternative, medicine considered." "(Veterinary medicine supplements and replacements). In the 18th century, acupuncture techniques were much different from those described in ancient Chinese texts. According to the authors, by the early 20th century, doctors practicing at the Royal Chinese Medical Institute were no longer studying acupuncture.

According to the authors, however, during the Great Leap Forward in the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong began to actively promote acupuncture and therapies. Other traditional medicine as "practical solutions to provide medical care for the vast majority of the population due to serious shortage of doctors". According to the authors, there is no evidence that the revival of ancient therapy on acupuncture results in improving the health of Chinese people.

In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture originates from the belief that illness is caused by stagnation of the flow of energy or gas in the body. Acupuncture stimulates the upper or lower spots of skin called acupuncture points or acupressure points, releasing this airflow. The gas then circulates through channels called meridians, according to the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota.

However, according to Dr. Bao, acupuncture therapy performed in hospitals and other health care facilities in the West today is not based on the principles built in ancient Eastern texts. Western scientists have tried to study acupuncture mechanisms for years and come up with some theories.

"The hypothesis is that acupuncture affects the regulation of the nervous system. Basically, you put a needle through specific points on the body and stimulate nerves. This nerve will actually send signals to the brain so that the brain releases nerve hormones such as beta-endorphin, so that the patient may feel excited or happy and increase the pain threshold so that the patient feels less painful " , Uncle Dr. Bao said.

In Kylie's study, the doctor of Chinese acupuncture and traditional medicine in Beaumont Hospital agreed with current studies that acupuncture can stimulate biochemical reactions in the human body through nerve. Acupuncture itself does not directly release beneficial chemicals that can assist in inflammation, stress ., but can also have a higher impact on chains such as affecting the pituitary gland to produce auxiliary hormones.

Another hypothesis suggests that acupuncture works by reducing inflammation, or protein, in the body. Several animal and human studies hypothesize by acupuncture, you have significantly reduced inflammatory agents including TNF and IL-1β, reducing inflammation and pain, Dr. Bao said. This point lies below the knee (also known as stomach 36 - stomach 36), which is used in a variety of inflammatory therapies anywhere in the body as well as strengthening Vitality and immune system, which also helps reduce inflammation.

There is also another theory that specifically applies how acupuncture is used to treat nerve damage, such as peripheral neuropathy, which causes paralysis or weakness in the legs and hands.

Dr Bao said: "The idea is to put the needle inside, you stimulate the brain to secrete some nerve growth factors and then help the nerve to recover."

Acupuncture is also widely used in combination with other infertility treatments. According to the study, acupuncture actually increases the effectiveness of many common drugs to increase the ability to conceive by increasing levels of hormones naturally moving to the ovary. There are many studies on women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), having difficulty conceiving. A summary of some articles from 2006 to 2014 by HealthCMI on this topic shows that acupuncture can help balance hormones, such as reducing testosterone levels and regulating ovulation, increasing the chances of conception. public up to 33%.

A study published in 2017 by Sean Grand and colleagues used acupuncture to treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has shown that acupuncture can cure some of the side effects of PTSD syndrome, such as depression, especially treatment right after diagnosis. The researchers also recommend that although this study is promising but relatively new and requires more research before promoting acupuncture as one of the therapies for people with PTSD syndrome.

An article published in 2017 by German and Swiss researchers on the impact of acupuncture on patients with allergic asthma. Through a large-scale, randomized trial, acupuncture when added to the patient's daily routine significantly improved asthma symptoms during the 3-month trial period. However, the limitation of this study is that patients and practitioners are not "blind" during the test, so there may be bias in the results.

In general, acupuncture is considered a complementary therapy to conventional treatments.

Limited and misleading perception

More and more specialists and medical institutions accept acupuncture therapy, mainly in the treatment of pain and nausea. According to the British Cancer Research Company, in the 2013 assessment, acupuncture can reduce nausea and vomiting symptoms of chemotherapy patients.

According to Dr Bao, research is still underway to see if acupuncture may help with symptoms associated with cancer treatment, including hot flashes, peripheral nerves and lymphedema ( swelling of the arm or hand).

The World Health Organization maintains a universal list of diseases and conditions (mostly related to pain) that can be treated with acupuncture. Currently, many doctors no longer discourage patients from receiving acupuncture therapy when conventional medical methods are no longer available or when conventional treatments cause too many side effects.

Many studies want to find out if acupuncture can be used to treat depression, sleep disorders and drug addiction. But overall, acupuncture is considered a complementary therapy to conventional treatments and it is most effective when taken with healthy living habits every day.

Dr. Bao also focused on using acupuncture to support anxiety, digestion, weight loss, infertility and chronic pain problems. According to this study, acupuncture will be most effective when combined with medications and other treatments.

She said: " Normally, when people are more aware of their health, they will pay more attention to diet, exercise, thinking about approaches to thinking and body to reduce stress and After that, I can use acupuncture, ideally, I think all this should be combined at the same time instead of the purpose of using acupuncture to treat all kinds of diseases.