Is Acupuncture Real?

This 5,000-year-old healing system of Chinese medicine was introduced into the mainstream in the U.S. after President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.  Starting in California in 1976, most States now certify acupuncturists according to national standards. Every year, tens of thousands of acupuncture treatments are performed on patients who experience significant changes in their health. In spite of this, our culture has been slow to embrace acupuncture and its application has been difficult to reconcile with modern science.

In its original form, acupuncture was passed from teacher to student. Throughout the centuries, it has developed empirically based on the concept of restoring energy flow throughout the body. In the last 50 years, acupuncture is beginning to find its rightful place. The once skeptical Western medical and scientific communities have now become aware of the intensive research that has increased exponentially over the last decades.  The United States and China are taking lead roles in understanding the compelling evidence of the actions of acupuncture at organ system, cellular and sub-cellular levels.

When illness or pain cause imbalance, specific acupuncture points on the body may be accessed, both to restore proper function and energetically unblock these meridians.  Had acupuncturists not witnessed a clinical benefit to this practice, they would have stopped performing such techniques several thousand years ago, and would not be using them today.

Acupuncture not only treats existing illness or injury, but also prevents recurrence or new illness. It does this through improving the overall functionality of the body's immune and organ systems: the lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, nervous, musculoskeletal and endocrine.

Significant studies have provided evidence of acupuncture's effects upon arthritis, asthma, anxiety, acne, and pain reduction.  It helps with infertility, improving the odds of pregnancy.  Acupuncture is effective with addictions, such as smoking, drinking, drug use or overeating. Fatigue and digestive problems can be treated when conventional medicine fails.  There are two explanations which might elucidate how acupuncture works, one is scientific, the other environmental.

Acupuncture is often used alongside conventional medicine to treat musculoskeletal problems, pain & stress; and has well been documented in stateside hospitals, combat zones by doctors working with the armed forces. Richard Hobbs states “Understanding acupuncture in the same manner that we understand the mechanism of action and pharmacokinetics of a particular drug will, similarly, enable us to match treatments better with conditions”.

According to Peter Dorscher (Mayo Clinic of Jacksonville, Fl.), several meridians track our major arteries and nerves. He has specified that heart attack pain radiates up, across and down left arm – the very location of the heart meridian; and that gall bladder pain radiates to the right upper shoulder, the location of the gallbladder meridian.

Acupuncture has several mechanisms of action:  it stimulates blood flow and tissue repair at the acupuncture sites; sends nerve signals to the brain that regulate the perception of pain; and reboots the autonomic nervous system, governing unconscious functions like heart beat, respiration and digestion, according to Alejandro Elorriaga of McMaster University in Ontario.

Meridians are comprised of a polarized medium, most likely stable water clusters with permanent electric dipole moments. They have electrically distinct properties. This follows along with the folklore that water is the source of life. We can see parts of the meridians in some people, some of the time, by using infrared imaging techniques.

MRI scan:  The Effects of Acupuncture

Vitaly Napadow

The top two images are the brain of a healthy subject; the middle two images show a patient with carpal tunnel syndrome registering pain (indicated by red and yellow);  while the bottom images show a calming effect (indicated by blue) in the brain after acupuncture.

Neuroimaging studies reveal that acupuncture calms areas of the brain that register pain, whilst activating those areas involved in recuperation and rest. Doppler ultrasound has determined that acupuncture increases blood flow to treated areas. Thermal imaging records show how acupuncture makes inflammation subside. 

At Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, these neuroimaging studies demonstrated that acupuncture affects a network of systems in the brain. It decreases activity in the limbic system (emotional part of the brain), activates parts of the brain (that typically light up when the brain is at rest), and assists patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and/or fibromyalgia.  The number of receptors for pain-reducing neurotransmitters is increased, for extra relief (indicated by red and yellow); while the bottom images show the calming effect (indicated by blue) in the brain after acupuncture.

Researcher Andrew Vickers, PhD, reports on a study which took six to seven years, and involved about 40 people – pain management specialists, patient advocates, statisticians, acupuncturists and experts from the U.S. and Europe. After reviewing nearly 1,000 studies, 29 high-quality clinical trials were selected (going back to the 1990s) including data from roughly 18,000 participants from the USA, UK, Germany, Spain and Sweden.  The research results translated to 30% less pain compared to those taking standard medications and treatments.  For those with chronic pain stemming from arthritis, headaches, or back and neck problems, evidence bolstered the success of acupuncture.