“How does acupuncture relieve pain?”
I am a 36 year old male. I want to get an acupuncture treatment for pain. How does acupuncture relieve pain?
21 Answers
Needles stimulate the nerve and send signals to your mid brain. Your brain sends a lot of blood flow and nutrients to the affected area and fixes the problem. At the same time, your brain releases a lot of endorphins to suppress the pain and make you relaxed.
That's a great question, and I spent 4 years in a masters program to find that out. Other than telling you we balance the body's energy so that it can heal itself, I would suggest picking up Ted Kaptchuk's book "The Web that has no Weaver" to get a layman's explanation of a most complicated approach to the body and healing.
The acupuncture works with Qi(energy), when Qi moves pain reduce. Science's way is acupuncture has been proved to release endorphin which reduces the pain.
Jonathan Fang
Jonathan Fang
Acupuncture, by increasing blood flow and decreasing inflammation, brings down the pain and helps the healing.
Mr. Anthony James Lorenzo
Acupuncturist
The mechanism of how acupuncture works has not been determined scientifically. We do know it causes the release of endorphins from research.
Acupuncture relieves pain by regulating nociorecepters, which are sensory neurons that perceive pain. In chronic pain conditions, these neurons can be actively sending pain signals to the spine and brain without actual stimuli, purely due to habit. Acupuncture has been proven in research to help in stopping this redundancy of signaling, ultimately relieving pain.
Hello,
There are many theories how acupuncture relieves pain. Acupuncture needles in certain areas in your body connected to the area where it hurts(needles usually not only inserted in pain area only but other "trigger" points that are distal from pain location). Another theory is that needles help to certain hormones from brain to not to feel the pain, but to help your body to relax and be happy (oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, etc.). But the actual Asian Medicine theory is, needles help to circulate energy (ki, qi) and blood in your body that's been blocked or stagnated to release pain. Pain in Asian medicine is believed to be caused by blockage of internal organ energy and blood. Please consult your local acupuncturist for more information.
Wash your hands and wear a mask!
Scott Sang In Lee
There are many theories how acupuncture relieves pain. Acupuncture needles in certain areas in your body connected to the area where it hurts(needles usually not only inserted in pain area only but other "trigger" points that are distal from pain location). Another theory is that needles help to certain hormones from brain to not to feel the pain, but to help your body to relax and be happy (oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, etc.). But the actual Asian Medicine theory is, needles help to circulate energy (ki, qi) and blood in your body that's been blocked or stagnated to release pain. Pain in Asian medicine is believed to be caused by blockage of internal organ energy and blood. Please consult your local acupuncturist for more information.
Wash your hands and wear a mask!
Scott Sang In Lee
We use acupuncture to harmonize the body’s circulation. For example, if you can imagine watering a garden and the water flowing freely through a hose. But if you put a kink in the hose, that would be similar to the pain/pressure (impingement) in the body. We would then use acupuncture in different areas of the body to help free up the flow like a parallel electrical circuit. Research has also shown acupuncture stimulates beta-endorphins, a feel good chemical, to be released in the brain and alpha-adenosine in the muscles, a chemical that eases & relaxes muscle tension deeper and more microscopic than a massage.
Live Happy,
Michael
Live Happy,
Michael
Acupuncture increases circulation to relieve pain.
There are many physiological reactions that are induced by acupuncture to reduce pain. In general terms, acupuncture reduces pain by increasing blood flow to an injured area. This action will furthermore reduce the inflammation and help the body heal.
Alexandre Hillairet, DAOM.
Alexandre Hillairet, DAOM.
Acupuncture causes the body to release neuropeptides that stimulate opiate receptors.
Acupuncture helps to move accumulated obstructions that cause pain. Acupuncture improves circulation around the affected area and in the body in general sending oxygenated blood to move pain.
Acupuncture induces the natural pain killer that our body has. Yes. It helps the pain without addiction.
Helps your body's healing system work better.
By balancing your Qi. Make an appointment and you will see it happen.
Specific acupuncture points trigger the release of endorphins in your brain and relieve the pain
There are literally hundreds of studies on acupuncture and how it relieves pain. The studies com to many answers that vary (from a western medical point-of-view) .
Here are a few findings:
1. "Acupuncture stimulates the secretion of endorphins in the body (specifically Enkephalins) which is 1000 times better than morphine which is why it helps pain"
2. "There is an effect of constricting or dilating of blood vessels, from doing acupuncture so it releases white blood cells and increases circulation of red blood cells to injured areas. This is why it is so good for treating traumatic injuries so quickly and also why it treats edema problems."
3. "it regulates the cortisol releasing hormones (CRH) to reduce negative reactions to stress which is why it is so good for treating anxiety and stress related issues."
4. "Disrupts C fibers in nerves to rellieve pain."
5. "Yet another study claims that adenosine is released to deep levels, which is why acupuncture is good for treating pain"
The more studies that are done demonstrate more physical reactions that occur with acupuncture treatments. From a Chinese medical point-of-view, we are unblocking circulations and as the circulations repair, those help the body repair and function more properly. Pain comes when things aren't moving well.
I hope you find a licensed practitioner in your area if you need some treatments. If you don't know where to start, you can go to WWW.NCCAOM.ORG and search for a well trained practitioner in your area.
Here are a few findings:
1. "Acupuncture stimulates the secretion of endorphins in the body (specifically Enkephalins) which is 1000 times better than morphine which is why it helps pain"
2. "There is an effect of constricting or dilating of blood vessels, from doing acupuncture so it releases white blood cells and increases circulation of red blood cells to injured areas. This is why it is so good for treating traumatic injuries so quickly and also why it treats edema problems."
3. "it regulates the cortisol releasing hormones (CRH) to reduce negative reactions to stress which is why it is so good for treating anxiety and stress related issues."
4. "Disrupts C fibers in nerves to rellieve pain."
5. "Yet another study claims that adenosine is released to deep levels, which is why acupuncture is good for treating pain"
The more studies that are done demonstrate more physical reactions that occur with acupuncture treatments. From a Chinese medical point-of-view, we are unblocking circulations and as the circulations repair, those help the body repair and function more properly. Pain comes when things aren't moving well.
I hope you find a licensed practitioner in your area if you need some treatments. If you don't know where to start, you can go to WWW.NCCAOM.ORG and search for a well trained practitioner in your area.
In Chinese medicine, pain is caused by stagnation of the flow of qi (your energy) and blood. Acupuncture alleviates pain in two ways: removing the cause of stasis and local treatment. For example, if you have pain in your lower back that's caused by stress, we treat the stress and then may use techniques like cupping or electrical stimulation to treat the physical pain.
Using needles to send message to brain to produce the pain relief for your own body.. Most important is the diagnosis. We need to find out why there is pain to treat from the source.
In terms of pathogenesis, the ancients believed that if the internal organs and meridians' qi & blood of the human body are not smooth, it is the root cause of pain. Therefore, it is necessary to clear the meridians and reconcile the internal organs during treatment to achieve the qi and blood circulation and the pain can be stopped. Acupuncture has this effect.
There are lots of potential answers to how acupuncture relieves pain. I'll focus on the biochemistry as that tends to be the most understandable explanation.
In pain conditions, the current evidence shows that acupuncture is doing multiple things:
1. Needle insertion promotes the production and release of endogenous opiate peptides. These are basically the body's natural pain killers and function to block transmission of the pain signal.
2. Needle insertion has also been shown to regulate a set of neurotransmitters in the brain and spinal cord which function in the transmission of sensory information including pain signals.
3. We have a small handful of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies that show acupuncture is re-mapping areas of the frontal cortex where pain information is processed and increasing the number of opiate receptors in the brain (making more potential attachment points for the increased endogenous opiate peptides).
4. Last, but not least, we have a variety of studies showing acupuncture regulating the inflammatory process via a variety of pathways including cytokines, interleukins and prostaglandins.
So, essentially, we're changing the way pain signals move through the central nervous system, changing the way the brain processes pain signals and helping to reduce inflammation.
On the healing side of the equation acupuncture has been shown to:
1. Generate and mobilize stem cells.
2. Stimulate a relatively undifferentiated healing response as a result of the low level damage the needle itself creates.
In pain conditions, the current evidence shows that acupuncture is doing multiple things:
1. Needle insertion promotes the production and release of endogenous opiate peptides. These are basically the body's natural pain killers and function to block transmission of the pain signal.
2. Needle insertion has also been shown to regulate a set of neurotransmitters in the brain and spinal cord which function in the transmission of sensory information including pain signals.
3. We have a small handful of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies that show acupuncture is re-mapping areas of the frontal cortex where pain information is processed and increasing the number of opiate receptors in the brain (making more potential attachment points for the increased endogenous opiate peptides).
4. Last, but not least, we have a variety of studies showing acupuncture regulating the inflammatory process via a variety of pathways including cytokines, interleukins and prostaglandins.
So, essentially, we're changing the way pain signals move through the central nervous system, changing the way the brain processes pain signals and helping to reduce inflammation.
On the healing side of the equation acupuncture has been shown to:
1. Generate and mobilize stem cells.
2. Stimulate a relatively undifferentiated healing response as a result of the low level damage the needle itself creates.
