ACUPUNCTUREACUPUNCTUREAN ANCIENT SCIENCE WITH MODERN IMPLICATIONS

Dr. Linda Lucienne EhlersChiropractic Physician8700 West 95th StreetHickory Hills, Illinois 604571.708.598.9010

 

 

IS THE WORLD FLAT?

Does Acupuncture Work?PAIN, International Association for the Study of Pain, November 1996, Volume IV, Issue 6

Perception of non-European medical practice as empiric or "folk" medicine ignores the history of science.

During Europe’s "Dark Ages" of restricted scientific activity, the East witnessed intense scientific development.

Written records of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on systems of acupuncture and moxibustion provide ample evidence for a science based on centuries of inductive logic, observation, and painstaking classification1,2.

TCM poses insights but not in biomedical terms. Both the self-contained logic of TCM and Western medical establishment attitudes

about "alternative" or "complementary" medicine have insulated acupuncture from developments in biomedicine3.

Recent biomedical research on the neural modulation of pain rekindled interest in acupuncture as a mode of peripheral sensory stimulation (PSS)4,5.

The potential of TCM and the effectiveness of acupuncture are now being defined biomedically.

 

Traditional Chinese Explanation of How Acupuncture Works

 

The human body has thousands of nerve points or pressure points that control different parts of the body.

Points located along 14 major meridians or power lines inside the body.

These power lines carry energy or Qi, Chi or …which is distributed evenly in cases of a healthy body.

However in cases of sickness or disease, an obstruction at a particular point affects the rest of the body.

Needles clean out the obstruction and redirect energy into these affected parts. This will cure the problem over a period of time.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF ACUPUNCTURE?

Acupuncture is a system which can influence three areas of health care:

promotion of health and well-being, prevention of illness, treatment of various medical conditions.

Often associated with pain control it has much broader applications.

Effective as the only treatment used, or as the support or adjunct to other medial treatment forms in many medical and surgical disorders.

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION Recognizes the use of acupuncture in the treatment of a

wide range of medical problems

Digestive disorders: gastritis & hyperacidity,

spastic colon, constipation, diarrhea.

Respiratory disorders: sinusitis, sore throat, bronchitis, asthma, recurrent chest infections.

Neurological and muscular disorders: headaches, facial tics, neck pain, rib neuritis, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, various forms of tendonitis, low back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis.

Urinary, menstrual, and reproductive problems.

Particularly useful in resolving physical problems related to tension, stress & emotional conditions.

Date of download: 5/15/2012Copyright © 2012 American Medical

Association. All rights reserved.

From: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Acupuncture in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Title and subTitle BreakThe COPD-Acupuncture Trial (CAT)Acupuncture in Patients With COPD

Arch Intern Med. 2012;():1-9. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.1233

Figure 1. Acupuncture points used. The acupuncture points were selected according to traditional Chinese medicine theory: (1) LU1 (Zhongfu) and (2) LU9 (Taiyuan) in the lung meridian; (3) LI18 (Futu) in the large intestine meridian; (4) CV4 (Guanyuan) and (5) CV12 (Zhongwan) in the conception vessel; (6) ST36 (Zusanli) in the stomach meridian; (7) KI3 (Taixi) in the kidney meridian; (8) GB12 (Wangu) in the gallbladder meridian; and (9) BL13 (Feishu), (10) BL20 (Pishu), and (11) BL23 (Shenshu) in the bladder meridian.

Figure Legend:

Pain = Protective Pain = Protective MechanismMechanism

warns of impending or actual damage,3 types of pain receptors:

-mechanical,

-heat

-other noxious stimuli

Sends the pain impulse to the CNS through afferent nerve fibers.

Abn px states = damage w/in px pathway

Pain RecognitionPain RecognitionUnlike other sensory input

◦Subjective, ◦Previous experiences can influence

one's perception of px. ◦True of dogs also; some breeds

generally are more stoic than others. ◦A function of sex as females have

shown a much higher pain threshold

Pain Control & Pain Control & AAcupuncture

Two Possibilities ◦instigates the production

endogenous opiates (Ant. Pituitary)

Or

◦ blocks pain transmission.

SIGNAL TRANSMISSIONSIGNAL TRANSMISSIONMelzak-Wall Gate Control Theory of Pain Control Melzak-Wall Gate Control Theory of Pain Control 

3 types of pain receptors. Stimuli received from the mechanical and thermal pain receptors &

transmitted over large myelinated A-delta fibers -- close to 30 meters per second.

Impulses received by the other type of receptors travel much more slowly on the C fibers at the rate of 12 meters per second.

A-alpha fibers, necessary for the proper perception of where we are in three-dimensional space, found in muscles and joints.

A-beta neurons are involved in feeling light touch and the bending of hairs.

A-alpha and A-beta fibers transmit nerve impulses many times faster than A-delta or C fibers .

Pressure/mechanical stimulation produces non-painful sensory information that travels along A-beta fibers. When the information reaches the inhibitory interneurons, it shuts a nerve transmission "gate" that blocks the conduction of the slower traveling A-delta and C fibers .

Does not explain the delayed effects of treatment or the results of cross-circulation studies ( blood circulation of two animals were connected, and the procedure performed on one produced results in both).

SIGNAL TRANSMISSIONSIGNAL TRANSMISSION

Humoral TheoryVasodilation TheoryAutonomic TheoryBioelectricTheoryNon-synaptic diffusion

neurotransmission (NDN)

Humoral TheoryHumoral Theory Acupuncture instigates release

of endogenous (developed from within) opiates that produce a self-induced analgesia.

Stimulates specific afferent nerves, that in turn activate a spinal cord center, a mid-brain center and the hypothalamus/ anterior pituitary.

All three of these have been shown to block pain transmission by means of endorphins and/or other analgesic neurotransmitters.

Some believe that acupuncture's pain relief derives from a combination of the neurological and humoral explanations.

 

Vasodilatation EffectsVasodilatation EffectsLocalized vasodilatation effects, Dilated blood vessels are better

able to eliminate pain-producing substances such as bradykinin, prostaglandins and other inflammatory products.

Explains procedure's benefits specific to musculoskeletal disorders.

Autonomic TheoryAutonomic Theory

Internal organs can be stimulated by external acupuncture points.

Selectively excite parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves regulating the autonomic nervous system.

Bioelectric TheoryBioelectric Theory

Acupuncture meridians are like direct current pathways

Acupuncture points function as amplifiers & rectifiers.

Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita1934 - 2006

American neuroscientist

One of first to seriously study the idea of neuroplasticity

Introduced sensory substitution as a tool to treat patients suffering from neurological disorders.

Non-synaptic diffusion neurotransmission (NDN)

Discovered in 1962 by Bach-y-RitaA complementary mechanism of information

transmissionMay play multiple roles in the brain,

including in normal and abnormal activity, brain plasticity and drug actions

 

Non-synaptic diffusion neurotransmission

(NDN) Diffusion of neurotransmitters and other neuroactive

substances through the extracellular fluid to reach extrasynaptic receptors, &

Diffusion of substances such as nitric oxide through both the extracellular fluid and cellular membranes to act w/in the cell.

The possible roles of NDN in mass, sustained functions such as mood, sleep and brain “tone”, as well as in various other functions, e.g., in long term potentiation, at the retinal, lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex levels of the visual system, in recovery from brain damage and in neuropharmacology,

What these theories have in common is the What these theories have in common is the stimulation of acupuncture points stimulation of acupuncture points

insertion of small needles,

application of pressure,

cupping (suction) and application of heat

through moxibustion (which can be used to raise the temperature of the needles), or

infrared, laser or electrical stimulation

Myofascial Chains

Alternative therapists disagree with the neurological explanation.

According to them acu works by stimulating nerve points to send extra messages over the fascia to the covering tissue of muscle bundles.

The messaged travel via specially made myofascial chains that are geared to carry messages.

The exact message will vary according to the neurological point that is stimulated.

◦ For example, stimulating a point in the forehead may help to sooth sinus pains and encourage draining. These neurological or electrical points are said to have a lower electrical resistance and they work like switches to control pain and healing in different parts of the body.

Nerve Complex Explanation of How Does Acupuncture Work

Some neurologists believe it is possible that acupuncture points contain deep seated nerve complexes.

Pressing down on these nerve complexes does cause a dull ache in the affected area/body part.

Inserting needles into these nerve points could result in a stimulation of the brain and the spinal cord encouraging the release of natural painkillers or endorphins.

These chemicals can then block the sensation of pain and help the area heal itself.