How Acupuncture Treatment Benefits a Range of Conditions

The credibility of using acupuncture in Raleigh NC has grown substantially over the past few years. Even if you had never considered trying acupuncture before, you might be weighing your options now.

Acupuncture has a long tradition of being a very effective, non-invasive treatment for issues like nausea and vomiting, especially in the case of chemotherapy patients.

Types of Conditions

Although results vary and there aren’t always reliable studies to back up anecdotal evidence, acupuncture is also widely used to treat:

headaches
fibromyalgia
carpal tunnel syndrome
addiction
weight loss

and even as part of stroke rehabilitation.

According to MedicineNet, acupuncture works by encouraging the body to release opioids into the central nervous system. This in turn eases pain, increases a feeling of well-being, and might explain the relief of a number of symptoms after a single visit to a practitioner.

Reliable Studies and Why the Experts Are Standing Behind Them

One of the main reasons people seek acupuncture in Raleigh NC is back pain – and with good reason. Numerous studies back up the use of acupuncture treatment for this condition, and many show it to be more effective than a number of conventional approaches.

For example, in an article published in Acupuncture Today, researchers pointed out that acupuncture actually works better than injectable drugs to relieve lower back pain. Other studies have shown that acupuncture treatment is superior to physical therapy and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help relieve pain, tension and discomfort in the lower back area.

In addition, patients who receive acupuncture are more likely to experience long-term relief of pain and improvements in functional abilities as long as six months after the last session. These responses are not seen with the use of any other type of treatment.

How Else Acupuncture Can Help

Here’s an unexpected benefit of acupuncture: using it might actually improve the effectiveness of your prescription drugs. A study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showed that people who used acupuncture and a small dose of Prozac experienced similar results to those using a full dose of Prozac but no acupuncture to treat anxiety. In addition, the acupuncture treatment option was a lot more effective because it resulted in fewer side effects. On the other hand, those on a full dose of Prozac experienced more nausea, gained more weight, and reported a decrease in their sex drive.

Digestive Conditions

And while the use of acupuncture in Raleigh NC for nausea and vomiting has been practiced for years, it now appears that acupuncture can also help with digestive conditions. In fact, researchers found that acupuncture sessions can help pregnant women deal with indigestion and heartburn without the dangers or side effects associated with drugs. In a study conducted in Brazil, 75 % of the women using acupuncture reported improvements in their heartburn episodes, while only 44% of women using traditional drug treatment reported the same.

Weight Loss

Finally, acupuncture has been extensively used to help reduce appetite and improve weight loss results, but new studies show it might also help fight obesity. A systemic review of 31 studies showed that the use of acupuncture treatment in obese patients leads to better results than the use of medications or diet alone.

If you are curious about these findings and living in Raleigh NC, make the short drive over to Chapel Hill‘s Acupuncture Balanced Health to see one of our highly experienced practitioners. Give us a call to schedule your introductory consultation.

How Acupuncture Fibromyalgia Treatments Help Patients Cope

Acupuncture fibromyalgia treatments have been used and recommended for decades. In fact, well-respected sources of medical information such as the Mayo Clinic and WebMD report that acupuncture can be an effective complementary treatment for those suffering from fibromyalgia. As explained by WebMD, acupuncture works because the needles stimulate certain points that lead to the release of endorphins (the “feel good” hormones). These in turn help fight pain, reduce stress, and produce an overall feeling of well-being.

Acupuncture is believed to help “unblock” the flow of energy, or qi (pronounced “chee”) through the body. This is believed to restore the natural energy of the organism, helping it to heal itself.

What the Experts Say

In an article published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, experts looked at the benefits of using acupuncture to treat fibromyalgia. After looking at nine different studies and 395 participants, the Review pointed out that acupuncture provided a significant reduction in pain in patients suffering from fibromyalgia.

In other studies, patients undergoing acupuncture for fibromyalgia reported sleeping better. They also reported an improved sense of well-being and feeling less fatigued. In one of the studies, patients receiving acupuncture experienced less pain just one month after starting treatment – this was faster than those using standard therapy without acupuncture to deal with symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Other studies have shown similar results. For example, a study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings journal looked at the direct benefits of acupuncture on the treatment of fibromyalgia. The study found that patients who received acupuncture experienced improvement not only in their pain levels, but also suffered less fatigue and anxiety. These benefits lasted even after the treatment had ended. In fact, when patients returned seven months after the end of the study, the positive acupuncture benefits were still there.

Something to Keep in Mind

The United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) Center for Reviews and Dissemination: Effective HealthCare on Acupuncture review pointed out that there’s enough evidence to support the use of acupuncture in the management of patients who are not responding to conventional fibromyalgia treatment or as an addition to other forms of treatment currently in use. The NHS also pointed out that acupuncture could be a good alternative for people who can’t tolerate medication prescribed for their pain and are in need of an option to deal with fibromyalgia symptoms.

While there haven’t been enough large-scale randomized controlled trials to recommend the use of acupuncture as a sole treatment for fibromyalgia, experts agree that there is enough evidence about acupuncture’s effectiveness and safety to encourage patients with fibromyalgia to include acupuncture as part of the health care plan.