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1-01-10 - How Acupuncture Works from a Western perspective.
Acupuncture works. In fact it works very well. To truly understand the how of why it works, you either need to spend 4 years getting a Master's Degree in Oriental Medicine or for a general idea please continue reading.
To simplify the following explanation, we will use an example of acupuncture for pain management. In order for the body to experience pain there are 2 nerves that play a crucial role: the Afferent nerve fibers which are responsible for the “ouch” sensation, and the Proprioceptive fibers which tells the brain where the problem is. The combination of the two nerve signals alert the brain to the pain which triggers the body to restrict blood circulation to the area. Why restrict blood circulation? The body is unsure as to why there is pain so it defaults to addressing the worse case scenarios of either tissue damage or infection. In either case the body wants to isolate the area to prevent further damage to the rest of the system. If the body is able to determine that there is no infection or damage to the tissues it will release enkaphlins (endorphins) which plug up the pain receptor sites around the injured area. With the receptors on the afferent nerve fibers plugged two processes occur. First, the pain sensation is eliminated; second, normal blood circulation is returned to the area.
That's all fine and good if you've just stepped on a child's rouge matchbox car in the middle of the night. The pain is nearly gone before the swearing stops. However if the a fore mentioned toy causes an unplanned physics experiment in the rapid acceleration forces of gravity and the sudden body traumatizing stop that occurs at the bottom of the stairs then the body will clearly need more than a few seconds to heal itself. So you head to the Emergency Department to make sure your body is merely bruised and not broken. After being given a diagnosis and a few pain killers you wonder how long it will take for your body to heal itself.
In the above example, the body is unable to heal itself quickly and so it continues to produce a pain signal that there is something wrong. The problem is that the flow of blood to the area is restricted due to the body's natural response to pain which in turn prolongs the healing process. The pain killers also add to the problem since they decrease pain in the body by slowing down the Central Nervous System which in turn slows down the circulatory system thus decreasing the flow of blood around the body. To get the body to heal itself quicker an alternative to western medicine needs to be sought out.
Enter the Acupuncturist. Thousands of years ago the ancient Chinese described the root cause of pain in the following medical proverb: “Where there is pain there is no free flow; where there is free flow, there is no pain.” The term “free flow” in this proverb implies circulation of blood into the pained area. To treat pain with acupuncture, an acupuncturist needs to promote the circulation of blood thus “freeing the flow” and stopping pain. To accomplish this, acupuncture points or nodes are stimulated along proprioceptive nerve fibers that are associated with the problem area. By stimulating these points the nerves are better able to communicate with the brain where the afferent nerve fibers are that are sending the pain signal. With a clearer message reaching the mid-brain, the body is able to confidently release the enkaphlins to plug up the pain receptors thus stopping the pain. Once the brain no longer receives a signal of pain, it frees the flow of blood by dilating the blood vessels so that blood can bring oxygen, nutrients, and the immune system to the damaged area. With all the essential components present for tissue to heal itself the injured area gets to work repairing the damage. Depending upon how serious and how chronic an injury is will determine the amount of time the body will need in order to heal itself. Remember, not even paper cuts go away over night.
This same process of increasing the nerve signal to the brain to treat dis-ease in the body is virtually unchanged for the 50 plus diseases and aliments that the World Health Organization and National Institute of Health recognize as being effectively treatable by acupuncture.