What Is Known So Far About How Acupuncture Works?
“Modern research shows that acupuncture can affect most of the body's systems - the nervous system, muscle tone, hormone outputs, circulation, antibody production and allergic responses, as well as the respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems”.
British Medical Acupuncture Website
- Acupuncture creates tiny tissue lesions (too small to see) that promote healing throughout the body for 2 to 3 days while they heal. These stimulate an ancient biological mechanism whereby our bodies are signaled to spontaneously heal injuries through nervous system, immune system and endocrine system activation.
- Pain relieving and wellbeing promoting substances such as endorphins and neuropeptides are released with acupuncture needling.
- Pain regulating mechanisms such as neural gates in posterior horns of the spinal nerves are activated. These are particularly important in reducing chronic pain.
- Descending pathways in the brain reducing the reception and perception of pain and other unpleasant stimuli are activated.
- Two other factors that may explain the incremental improvements seen in clinical acupuncture are the effects of Oxytocin a hormone secreted in the hypothalamus of the brain promoting pain relief and relaxation.
In addition acupuncture stimulates Long-Term Potentiation and Long-Term Depression through neuroplasticity, influencing progressive healing and pain relief. This can be considered a kind of re-education of the nervous system. It is a nervous system wide phenomenon, occurring in the brain, spine, muscles and organs and the healing effects increase with each application of acupuncture until the maximal effect is achieved.
- Real-time fMRI studies of the brain show the acupuncture effect positively influencing several brain regions. Integrated into this effect is a dampening down of areas such as the limbic system, suggesting reduction in emotional unpleasantness of pain and other experiences like tinnitus and nausea.
- Acupuncture has anti-inflammatory and immune regulating and anti-allergy effects.
- Acupuncture relaxes shortened muscles thereby releasing pressure on joint structures and nerves. This also normalizes circulation of blood, promoting nourishment and detoxification of starved tissues.
While it is clear that acupuncture has several modes of action, so far a complete theory of acupuncture has not been developed.