Acupunture Might Help Us Manage Pain

Acupuncture is so widely accepted as a healing process that even the US National Institutes of Health's CAM division states that "acupuncture is among the oldest healing practices in the world."

It has been used to treat back pain, joint pain, neck pain, and headaches.

A new study, reported on Time.com , showed that acupuncture may actually modulate the brain's perception of pain.

The study, led by Dr. Nina Theysohn at the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, and colleagues at University of Duisburg-Essenused, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track brain activity both before and during acupuncture.

Comparisons of the brain scans before and after acupuncture showed that areas of the brain that were active during the pain stimulus were dampened during acupuncture. This led researchers to conclude that the needles actually do cause a change in the way that the brain perceives and processes pain.

The hope is that this knowledge can help us develop better ways to treat pain.

Acupunture Can Help with Menstrual Pain

Even though acupunture is so widely known to help in pain management that many insurance plans pay for it, this is the first time I have heard about acupuncture helping with menstrual pain.

As reported on MSNBC, there is a new study from Germany that show this holistic method works both for pain and "improve the quality of life for some women".

It turns out the Univeristy of Maryland's Health Center also lists acupuncture as a treatment for dysmennorahe ( which is menstrual pain). Below is their take on it.

The National Institutes of Health recommend acupuncture as either a supplemental or alternative treatment for dysmennorhea. This recommendation is supported by a well-designed trial involving 43 women with dysmenorrhea. Women treated with acupuncture showed a dramatic reduction in both pain and the need for pain medication

Acupressure is also effective at reducing the pain. A study of 216 female students found that acupressure and ibuprofen were significantly better than a placebo, or “dummy pill,” at reducing pain.

Antioxidants Can Reduce Asthma In Kids

As asthma is one of the most worrisome disease in children, there is some good news on ways to prevent this. New research at Cornell University showed that kids who had higher blood levels of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and selenium were 10% to 20% less likely to have asthma than kids who had lower levels of these antioxidants.

According to an article in Prevent, children exposed to secondhand smoke, were 50% less like to have asthma if they had levels of selenium.

Food sources of the antioxidants include:

Vit C - Strawberries, raspberries, citrus fruit, green leafy vegetables
Beta-carotene -- apricots, broccoli, cantaloupe, mangoes, pink grapefruit, peppers, peaches, spinach, sweet potatoes
Selenium -- Brazil Nuts, Tuna, Beef, Turkey Chicken

Acupuncture, Natural Techniques Work For Tension Headaches

I just love it when you see a study from one country that confirms what other countries and cultures have known all along. Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years in Eastern medicine and now that one Swedish-based study confirms it works... it becomes valid. I'm sure the millions of people who use these methods in China and elsewhere are so thrilled to be validated.

Anyway, acupuncture along with relaxation training and exercise was found to provide "long-lasting improvement" for people with chronic tension-type headaches as reported by the journal Cephalalgia. See CNN's report on the study here.

The exercises used in the studies included ergometric cycling, stretching and exercises for the neck and shoulders.

The relaxation techniques included breathing techniques as well as stress coping techniques.

The researchers recommend that people who suffer from chronic tension-type headaches should use all three treatments for the best results.

Can Eastern Medicine Save Us From Hot Flashes?

It seems so, according to a study published Oct.3 and reported in the journal Fertility & Sterility. (Who names these journals?). In a study women had fewer and less severe symptoms during the night after receiving acupuncture.

In the CNN article, the explanation given for why acupuncture might work is that it can alter signals among nerve cells or can affect the release of various chemicals of the central nervous system. "There's also some evidence that acupuncture affects hormones related to both sleep and menopause. However, for now, the mechanism by which acupuncture might affect hot flashes is not completely understood,” said Dr. Rachel Manber, author of the study.

That's what I love about hearing Western medicine experts evaluate Eastern medicine. We don't understand how it works so we have to study it forever to see if we can use it. For how many thousands of years has acupuncture been used in the East? I'm guessing if it didn't work they would have stopped using it by now.

So I say don't wait until an American medical facility has given it the golden seal of approval. Try it and see if it works for you.

In case you are really worried, my holistic MD uses acupuncture all of the time for a variety of ailments and gets good results. (Now are you reassured?)