Pain is usually the first warning signal that our body give to us. Instead to take pain killer to cover the pain. Looking for the root which cause the pain is a better approach. As one of the complementary treatment, acupuncture is a traditional Chinese practice of medicine that has been recognized in Western culture and around the world. It reduce all kinds of pain including from musculoskeletal pain (general neck, lower back pain) to nerve pain such as post shingles nerve pain, also migraines, arthritis pain and menstrual pain and more. The core theory in TCM is that the health is achieved by maintaining the body’s delicate balance. On the other hand, disease is caused by an internal imbalance of yin and yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of Qi (pronounce chi) along pathways known as meridians. It is believed that inserting fine needles on certain points along the meridian can alleviate the blockage and balance yin and yang energy. The Modern research shows these benefits are achieved from the proximity of acupoints with nerves through intracellular calcium ions. There are several hypothetical mechanisms of action.
Natural opioid substances
Acupuncture has been approved to enhance endogenous opiates, such as dynorphin, endorphin, encephalin, and release corticosteroids, relieving pain and enhancing the healing process.
The neurogate theory
Similar to the mechanism of the action of widely used trans-cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), the neurogate theory has also been offered as an explanation to the blockade of pain. The close correlation between local acupuncture points for pain and trigger points as noted by Melzack3, co-author of the gate theory of pain, represents a major convergence of Western and Eastern knowledge.
Myofibrillary entanglement
Acupuncture may induce relaxation of ‘stuck’ myofibrils within tissue planes. This is thought to have a similar effect to the injection of painful trigger points (a common procedure undertaken in pain clinics).
Local blood flow
The mesolimbic pathway is one of the neural pathways the brain that link the ventral tegmentum area in the midbrain to the nucleus accumbens in the limbic system. It is one of the four major pathways where the neurotransmitter dopamine is found and produces a pleasurable feeling when stimulated.
It is hypothesized that, in chronic-pain patients, the mesolimbic loop is in a state of imbalance. After a relatively brief (30 min) period of stimulation with TENS or EA, a self-sustaining circulation is set up, causing a re-setting of the pain-modulation pathways. This theory may well explain for the long-term analgesic effects.
A meta-analysis of 23 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published through November 2008 to 2012 confirmed that acupuncture has a clinically relevant effect compared with no acupuncture control. effects appeared to persist for at least 12 months after receiving acupuncture.
