Acupuncture as a healthcare treatment for chronic pain – Healthcare Global – Healthcare News, Magazine and Website
Acupuncture utilises and promotes the body’s natural pain-relieving chemicals including endorphins, noradrenalin, and serotonin. The effect is instigated by inserting acupuncture needles into specific points on the body which stimulate a number of physiological mechanisms within the central nervous system and local peripheral tissues.
Additionally, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have confirmed the effect on the pain pathway to the brain. Data suggests that acupu…….
Acupuncture utilises and promotes the body’s natural pain-relieving chemicals including endorphins, noradrenalin, and serotonin. The effect is instigated by inserting acupuncture needles into specific points on the body which stimulate a number of physiological mechanisms within the central nervous system and local peripheral tissues.
Additionally, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have confirmed the effect on the pain pathway to the brain. Data suggests that acupuncture triggers a sequence of events involving the release of endogenous opioid-like substances. With opioids being one of the strongest painkillers available for treatment, and one of the most addictive, reducing dependency on external interventions (i.e. pills or injections) can lead to a more sustainable, consistent treatment plan.
Acupuncture enables clinicians to utilise a therapy which has virtually no side effects or adverse reactions and can be implemented in the majority of individual treatment plans, given it has very few contra-indications in regard to its use. Acupuncture can therefore be an invaluable adjunct to a physiotherapist’s toolkit with patients often experiencing immediate results, with positive influences on their overall health and wellbeing.
Acupuncture can be a challenge in the mindset of those with a fear of needles, even though the needle’s width is similar to that of a human hair. To that end, the latest innovation is the ‘needle-less’ method of administering acupuncture treatment – Cold Laser, also called Soft Laser or Biostimulation Laser.
Cold Laser speeds up the normal biological process with a triple effect: it has a bio-electrical effect, which accelerates the membrane exchange; a photochemical effect, which increases the energy potential of the cell; and a biophysical effect, which creates a resonance with own emission. The laser energy enables the intracellular production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the biological energy source, and thereby mobilise transcription systems, which revitalise protein synthesis, increase diffusion of molecules involved in inflammatory neuromediators and promote cellular oxygenation.
What this means is that Cold Laser therapy allows for increased biostimulation, which is vital for the regulation of nerve impulse emission, which in turn helps decrease pain and inflammation. It also provides energy to the chromophores, increasing protein synthesis, as well as increasing collagen production, which accelerates overall healing.
This method of acupuncture is proven in the treatment of wound healing, tuberculosis, tinnitus, epicondylitis, achille tendinitis, back pain, plantar heel pain, Carpal tunnel syndrome and the primary Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Across these varied conditions, and many others, chronic pain can be debilitating. Even the simplest tasks that most of us take for granted like walking the dog or even getting to sleep can cause excessive pain. It is vital that we continue to shed acupuncture’s undeserved ‘sandals and candles’ reputation and invest in, and promote technologies, such as Cold Laser, that enable …….
