Perhaps you’ve heard of needles being inserted into different points of the body to relieve pain and thought it was some kind of quackery or some outdated approach. Although there are no conclusive explanations as to how and why acupuncture pain treatment does its thing, countless studies show that the elimination of pain is definitely possible through acupuncture.

What is pain?

According to the standard dictionary pain is defined pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage, according to The International Association for the Study of Pain. It is useful to distinguish between two basic types of pain, acute and chronic, and they differ greatly.

Alternative Solutions to stop pain

The control of pain and inflammation, enhanced circulation, reduction of stress, and improved endocrine and immune functioning is possible with the application of acupuncture. Acupuncture therapy can treat conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, menstrual cramps, arthritis, and tennis elbow and the list goes on.

If you meet with an acupuncturist for the first time, he or she will put you through a thorough head to toes examination in order to design an effective acupuncture treatment plan that is specific to your needs. Acupuncture for pain treatment is categorized as a holistic approach because it restores balance and stimulates the body’s natural healing process. Basically, all you need to know is that the success rates are quiet promising and that this process brings absolutely no side effects to your health.

How does acupuncture stop pain?

Doctors may not be able to explain the exact science behind acupuncture but it has been proven to be effective time and again. The fact that the Chinese have been using this knowledge for centuries can attest to the practice’s effectiveness. However, if you absolutely need some kind of scientific explanation as to why acupuncture  pain treatment works, here’s a brief one. When needles are inserted into strategic acupuncture points, it is believed that the body is stimulated to produce natural steroids and release endorphins which are known as the ‘feel good’ hormones. The endorphins help to relieve pain while the steroids decrease inflammation. The natural hormones in your body prove to be far more potent than any pharmaceutical for pain.

The Journal of the American Medical Association states that many questions still remain for study about contemporary medical acupuncture, “the evidence now available, however, is sufficient to place this age-old Chinese healing art, modernized to US standards, on a solid scientific base.” The Journal then concludes the feature on the subject by saying that in the hands of competent physicians, acupuncture is a method free from discomfort or side effects that can, in many cases, bring some relief of chronic pain.

It may well be worth a try. When patients ask about contemporary medical acupuncture, they receive advice now with great confidence on the method. Acupuncture needles are capable of stimulating the pain’s own painkillers which are endorphins and encephalin. According to Britain’s medical journal Doctors at London’s St. Bartholomew’s Hospital said that after the sessions there was a significant rise of endorphin levels in the cerepospinal fluid (CSF) of patients relieved of pain by contemporary medical acupuncture when compared to volunteers who received no treatment. This is said to be the first time human endorphin levels in CSF have been associated to contemporary medical acupuncture.

How then does Acupuncture work?

How does it work? This is the key question about contemporary medical acupuncture. Does it have a scientific basis? Is it simply based on the principle of ‘mind over matter’? Could it even be associated with spiritism? Not even until now where all the secrets on how contemporary medical acupuncture works uncovered. Even its most dedicated followers admit that they do not know the precise scientific explanation of this holistic method. Because of this, some have suggested that contemporary medical acupuncture is related to the process of hypnosis. An American orthopedist compared contemporary medical acupuncture to drinking from the water of Lourdes, or having Oral Roberts touch people who then scream “I’m cured.” Others suggest that the Chinese have been brain washed by Mao Tse-tung’s thoughts. Many, however, disagree. Doctors note that the Chinese have produced general anesthesia in animals by using contemporary medical acupuncture, evidence that points in a rather more scientific direction.

Since contemporary medical acupuncture has been successfully used, particularly in China, in pediatrics and in veterinary medicine, this ‘psychological factor’, represents only a small part of the whole effect, as in any other therapy. Another doctor from New York argues that a psychological factor is always involved in medical treatments. That’s why there are clinical trials which administer placebos. For this and many other beneficiary reasons, medical acupuncture is being taught, learned, practiced and accepted by medical practitioners worldwide. With no doubt, acupuncture as an alternative to medical approaches is now considered as a modern breakthrough to curing health issues.