Research & Theory
Research performed in animals and humans shows that specific acupuncture relieved pain while sham acupuncture (needles at acupoint regions) had no pain relieving effect. Several controlled clinical trials on chronic pain patients comparing real acupuncture to sham acupuncture have also shown that acupuncture really works better than a placebo. Perhaps more importantly, when acupuncture was compared to conventional treatment of chronic pain it was found to be just as effective with fewer side effects.
It is evident that needling simulates peripheral nerves in the muscles which send messages to the brain to release endorphins (morphine-like peptides in the brain) These neurochemicals then cause analgesia by blocking the transmission of painful messages. Three main sites for endorphin acupuncture analgesia have been found. The pituitary gland is one site that has been shown to release endorphins into the blood stream. This hormone travels to the three parts of the brain and spinal cord to block the transmission of painful messages. The second site is the periaqaductal gray neurons in the mid brain which release endorphins that act as local transmitters to excite the rostral ventromedial medulla. The rostal ventromedial medulla in turn projects massively and selectively to pain transmitting neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and the trigeminal nucleus caudalis. Electrical stimulation in the periaqueductal gray (PIG) and rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) produces behavioral analgesia and inhibitions of spinal pain transmission. This third site, spinal cord endorphin system, is where the spinal cord neurons release endorphins to block the release of neurotransmitters from afferent fibers carrying painful messages to the cord.
In 1977, research showed that acupuncture analgesia inhibited the spinothalamic tract neurons from responding from painful inputs. This acupuncture effect was then blocked by naloxone, an endorphin receptor blocker. It has also been shown in mice and humans that naloxone blocked acupuncture anesthesia using behavior measurements. Acupuncture research has progressed since the 1970's to date to have no less than 17 different lines of evidence convergent upon acupuncture endorphin mechanisms verifying and supporting acupuncture analgesia.
|
