The Use of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment for multiple issues, and is characterized by needles being strategically inserted into pressure points on the body to relieve symptoms. This is believed to reset you qi or life force within your body. This practice is carried out by acupuncturists all over the world. In western medicine, while we don’t know the exact mechanism of action, it is thought to increase blood flow and raise natural painkiller levels in the body. This rise in natural painkillers and increased blood flow are the major benefits of acupuncture. The risks are very few, there is a very limited chance of organ damage, infection, or soreness after a treatment (Mayo Clinic 2012).

Sham-acupuncture has shown that the results for it and acupuncture are fairly similar. It is possible that the percentages of acupuncture and sham-acupuncture are similar because they were both the result of a placebo effect. The percentage for both acupuncture and sham-acupuncture were only 50% or less, showing that there is not a large majority of success in the reduction of pain. Since both acupuncture and sham-acupuncture were not effective on a larger scale, it gives more evidence to the possibility of the results being a placebo effect.

(2006) was conducted to observe patients with knee osteoarthristis and the safety and effectiveness between traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA), sham acupuncture, and conservative therapy. Sham acupuncture is needles being inserted at non acupuncture sites to make the patient think they are getting true acupuncture (Scharf et al., 2006). The study included 1007 participants who were at least 40 years old, had symptoms for the past 6 months of chronic knee pain, and given confirmation of osteoarthritis of the knee. The participants were randomly selected to one of the three groups: conservative therapy, traditional Chinese acupuncture, or sham acupuncture. Each group received six physiotherapy visits as well as their specific interventioin treatment (Scharf et al., 2006). The conservative treatment group contained 316 participants who received ten consultation visits to the practioners and given diclofenac or rofecoxibe as needed (Scharf et al., 2006). Throughout six weeks the TCA and sham acupuncture group received ten acupunture treatments both using the identical type of acupuncture needles. Diclofenac was also given to the particpants of the TCA and sham acupuncture group if their pain was not at a level of comfort. There were 326 particpants in the TCA group and 365 in the sham acupuncture group (Scharf et al., 2006). At the 13th and 26th week the Western Ontario and McMaster University Ostoarthririts Index (WOMAC) assessed pain and function. According to the WOMAC results, pain and function in the TCA and sham acupuncture group were more effective than conservative treatment (Scharf et al., 2006). The TCA and sham acupuncture group exhibited similar findings with no major differences (Scharf et al.,

Acupuncture is an ancient art of healing that dates back to at least 2,500 years. It has been widely practiced in China and many other Asian countries. Only recently has acupuncture made its way into the western world. Acupuncture accentuates on the natural healing of the body. It involves stimulating acupuncture points by the insertion of very fine, solid, metallic needles.

Ten’s of millions of dollars have been poured into research for this treatment, and yet all have come back with virtually insignificant results. All of the participants, control group as well as those who received the treatment, reported almost the same about of pain relief. Harriet Hall, an ex-physician and noted critic of CAM, had this to say: “ We have no evidence that acupuncture is anything more than theatrical placebo,” ( Interlandi 24 ). Although placebo is often seen as bad or ineffective experience in medicine and studies, it could be used as a treatment all of it’s own. As a placebo is where the brain is “tricked” into believing the body is undergoing effects that, in reality, it is not. In simply reshaping the reality of some patients situations, they can be healed ( Benedetti 22 ). The human mind is a complex system that controls more body functions than we are aware of in many cases. If a patient believes that they will never get better, treatment can only do so much, there must be belief and treatment before the patient can become well ( Chandler np

Aims: The aim of this case study is to find out the effect of acupuncture with

The Acupuncture treatment is utilized by more than twelve million Americans as a kind of treatment for hopelessness facilitating and for unmistakable contaminations and diseases. A few professionals and supporters spot stock in adjusting of centrality or the noteworthy explanation of Acupuncture treatment. Regardless, Western masters have could give a Western prescription brightening for why the treatment fulfils wants. Specialists light up that the particular acupuncture in long island concentrates, by and large called meridians, vitalize the nerves or nerve endings medications and massage treatment in magnificent neck region. This induction is sent to the cerebrum,

It was once believed that acupuncture worked because it destabilized the body’s natural flow of energy that had been disrupted. However, recent research shows that acupuncture is able to stimulate physical reactions in the body such as heart rate, blood pressure, and immune system responses. In other words, acupuncture arouses the body’s natural healing abilities. Regulation of red and white blood cell counts are crucial to a healing body. Acupuncture is also able to trigger the production of endorphins, the body’s natural pain killer, to reduce a patient’s pain. *A Acupuncture releases the substances and inhibits pain signal pathways to the spinal cord.*G This is much safer than using western pain killers because the risk of addiction is not

Despite the growing evidence that many ailments respond positively to acupuncture, much of the Western World remains incredulous as to its healing abilities. The centuries-old Chinese practice of acupuncture, rooted in 'non-scientific' and 'non-Western' thought and medicine, has burgeoned during the late-twentieth century trend towards 'alternative medicines.' Numerous clients readily attest to the positive effects of acupuncture in treating such conditions as postoperative pain, asthma, and drug addiction. Even so, many people are skeptical that placing hair-thin needles into one's skin in an effort to change the flow of 'Qi'(pronounced Ch'i) through mystical pathways in

During the 1950s, “acupuncture techniques were developed and it was first utilized as an anesthetic and analgesic during surgery”(Fishman, 2014, p. 1). It continued to grow after the World Health Organization sponsored acupuncture programs in the 1970s. Physicians and non-physician acupuncturists from around the world traveled to China to participate in these programs. Today, acupuncture is noted as an valuable holistic tool. Nevertheless, “it seems reasonable that cultural traditions play some role in the acceptance or rejection of acupuncture as a medical therapy, but the current data do not support that cultural affiliation alone is the most important variable, and the reasons people use acupuncture seem quite consistent regardless of ethnicity or nationality”(McKenzie, 2011, p.

Though acupuncture is not thought as superior to western medicine, it is now widely accepted and believed to be effective. It is a holistic treatment that does not focus on the exact cause of any condition or illness. Rather, it patterns its treatment from the negative imbalances that the body endures brought about by its psyche, lifestyle, external pathogens, environment, and stressors.

(Citation Maa S-H, Sun M-F, Wu C-C) In Eastern Medicine, the body becomes ill if a disturbance exists in one of the meridians disrupting the flow of Qi; consequently, by placing needles at certain identifiable points on the body, the flow of Qi will be corrected. (Citation Maa S-H, Sun M-F, Wu C-C) Maa et al completed a study regarding the efficacy of acupuncture on pain and the ROM in patient?s suffering from grade I-II OA. The authors concluded that acupuncture is a clinically significant treatment by supplementing it with standard care. Non-pharmacological studies include such treatments as exercising, wearing wedged insoles, or using hot or cold presses. Pharmacological treatments include analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), opioids, hyaluronic acid, corticosteroid injections, (Citation Garc?a-Padilla) or disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) such as sodium pentosan polysulfate. (CITATION Kumagai K) Garcia-Padilla et al researched the efficacy of intra-articular injections of bicarbonate and calcium

     Acupuncture is practice based on the theory that throughout our body there are vessels.  The network of vessels are called meridians.  Running through these meridians is something the Chinese refer to as Qi.  Qi most closely translates to energy.  Qi can be thought of as spirit, nerve impulses, or energy but it can also be blood, lymph, or other body fluids.

Acupuncture involves “the insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body” (Mayo). The idea of inserting needles into specific points in your body is to help realign the energy flow “Chi” (Mayo) in your body to

Acupuncture is a therapeutic technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which involves “the implantation of needles to different depths at a great variety of points on the surface of the human body”, in order to “stimulate deep-lying nerve-endings” and regulate “the circulation of qi and blood round the body ” (Lu & Needham, 2002:1). The history of acupuncture can be traced back to the Stone Age according to archaeological discoveries and the earliest available records of its principles, theories and applications can be found in the canonical TCM text Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (Chang & Zhang, 2012:37). For the following 2,500 years, acupuncture has been continuously passed on alongside other components of TCM. Nowadays, acupuncture is widely practiced in the East and become increasingly popular in the West. Many Western scholars attempt to separate acupuncture from TCM paradigm and use modern “scientific” methods to reveal its underlying mechanisms, but so far, such studies have not yielded sufficient evidence to support its “scientificity”. Thus, it has been labelled as “pseudoscience” or “quackery” (Ulett & Schwarts, 1982; Skrabanek, 1988; Renckens, 2002; Ernst, 2010; Pandolfi & Carreras, 2014; and Wikipedia ).