Acupuncture Baton Rouge

Pain

Because acupuncture stimulates the peripheral nervous system, it has the ability to affect every major system of the body, including the cardiac, gastrointestinal, circulatory, cerebral, genitourinary, endocrine, and immune systems.  So, while acupuncture can and does treat a wide range of conditions, it is probably best known in the United States for treating various pain syndromes.

There are multiple mechanisms of action involved in treating pain, some of which are quite complex.  The actions may be better understood by first knowing that acupuncture points are located at or near neurovascular bundles, also called neurovascular nodes.  These precise locations on the body contain high concentrations of sensory nerve fibers, fine blood vessels, fine lymphatic vessels, and mast cells (immune cells within the dermis layer of the skin).  These nodes are distributed along the longitudinal pathways of the body where the collateral blood vessels supply the capillaries and fine vessels.  It’s interesting to note that Chinese physicians performed detailed human dissections and discovered the phenomenon of continuous blood circulation 2,000 years before it was discovered in the West.

Research has also shown that acupuncture points tend to correspond to areas where connective tissues are thickest.  Connective tissue forms a web that runs continuously through the body.  This tissue contains many nerve endings. 

Depending on the type of pain, as well as on the unique characteristics of the patient, needling sites are chosen.  Once the needles have been strategically inserted, a cascade of neurophysiologic mechanisms is set into motion:

In summary, acupuncture stimulates the body’s own healing mechanisms.  In the case of pain, acupuncture can provide partial or complete symptom relief; it can prompt the reduction of both local and systemic inflammation; and it can help to re-establish neurological homeostasis in which the peripheral and central nervous systems are operating in a non-pain state.  In addition, acupuncture does not have the undesirable side effects of nausea, constipation, fatigue, or toxicity associated with pharmaceutical pain medications.

Recommended Resources:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401194/Acupuncture-for-Chronic-Pain.html

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/15/more-americans-using-acupuncture-for-common-ailments/

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/09/10/more-evidence-acupuncture-can-ease-chronic-pain

http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/11/acupuncture-may-help-reduce-chronic-pain-after-all/

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/acupuncture-to-relieve-pain?fullpage=1