Pain is a common condition which all too often causes Americans to reach for medications, some of which may have side effects, but modern science is helping us understand the mechanisms behind acupunctures beneficial effects in the treatment of pain.
Researchers from the University of Michigan have demonstrated that the ancient technique increased the binding availability of mu-opoid receptors in regions of the brain that process and dampen pain signals, such as the cingulate, insula, caudate, thalamus and amygdala.
They did so by applying brain imaging on study participants that included 20 women who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, and experienced pain at least 50 percent of the time. The subjects underwent the scans during the first acupuncture treatment and after the eighth treatment a month later.
“The increased binding availability of these receptors was associated with reductions in pain,” explains Dr. Richard E. Harris, researcher at the U-M Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center
and a research assistant professor of anesthesiology at the U-M Medical School.
Acupunctures solid place among the most effective alternative health resources appears to have been cemented by recent studies which suggest it can also relieve certain side effects of chemotherapy as well as conditions such as back pain and pregnancy-related heartburn. 