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How does acupuncture work as an analgesic?

Ear acupuncture - If I get a very carefully placed piercing will it work as a 'permanent' acupuncture spot?

  • .......or would it just destroy the acupuncture spot?

  • Answer:

    As duke suggested, it can have a "permanent" effect... BUT constant stimulation to an acupuncture point will eventually register as no stimulation at all. As an analogy, consider the way as we "tune out" repetitive noises. On a personal note, I'd just like to say I'm finding it frustrating that misinformed and uninformed people still maintain that acupuncture has no effect... further frustrated when they cite the science as the reason for their ignorance. I'd challenge the nay-sayers to provide a source for quality studies to back up their staunch refusal to accept this very legitimate therapy. (Acupuncture is WIDELY practiced in the mainstream medical community.) And in the spirit of reciprocity, I'd be delighted to share some of the vast wealth of studies/references that support / demonstrate / validate the benefits of properly applied acupuncture (both from a neuroanatomical approach and from a TCM approach.) Cheers! ------------------ Delighted to, Rhianna! Well... we all know the first basic tenet of science is that it cannot PROVE/DISPROVE anything. But we can lend evidence! How's this for starters... "Acupuncture: NIH Consensus Development Panel on Acupuncture," JAMA, November 4, 1998;280(17):1518-1524. "Acupuncture Compared to Placebo-Acupuncture for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Prophylaxis: A Randomised Placebo-Controlled Patient and Observer Blind Trial," Streitberger K, Diefenbacher M, Bauer A, et al, ANAESTHESIA, 2004;59:142-149. "The Efficacy of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Major Depression in Women," Allen JJB, et al, PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE, September, 1998;9(5):397-401 "Acupuncture in Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Randomised Trial," Witt C, Brinkhaus B, et al, LANCET, July 9, 2005;366:136-143. - (This one shows significant positive effect during the 8-week treatment, but once treatment ceased the benefits did not persist past 52 weeks.) "A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture added to usual treatment for fibromyalgia." Targino RA, Imamura M, Kaziyama HH, Souza LP, Hsing WT, Furlan AD, Imamura ST, Azevedo Neto RS JOURNAL OF REHABILITATION MEDICINE: official journal of the UEMS European Board of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Jul 08; 40(7):582-8 "An fMRI study of somatosensory-implicated acupuncture points in stable somatosensory stroke patients." Li G, Jack CR, Yang ES. JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING 2006 Nov; 24(5):1018-24 Okay, I'll stop there for now. I invite you to read these articles in full text and evaluate the quality of the studies (as with any other study!) It is important to think critically and I have great respect for skepticism... provided it drives us to the cutting edge of medical science. To that end, I also urge you to look further into the MRI studies and others that are investigating potential MOAs for acupuncture. And to investigate whether evaluating acupuncture against "sham acupuncture" is the best possible comparison. (EG: It's something akin to comparing analgesic effects of ibuprophen against those of acetaminophen - both have an impact through slightly different pathways. So if the ibuprophen works no better than acetaminophen, does it mean the ibuprophen has no analgesic effects??) Anyway... would be happy to discuss further if you're interested! Couldnt help noting that you didnt post anything. Unfortunate.

Janice at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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In short, no it will not. Eventually, the constant stimulation will "turn off" the acupuncture point. P.S. Ironically, what is being left out about the large study concerning acupuncture is that "fake" or "real" acupuncture was almost twice as effective in relieving back pain as standard non-surgical interventions. Considering that even the "fake" acupuncture causes some level of stimulation it is a logical fallacy to jump to placebo effect. The study has not identified the mechanism that makes acupuncture work, so it's sort of hard to develop the acupuncture equivalent to a "sugar pill".

Curious George, C.Ac

Yes, it would work. That is why pirates wore earings - the accupuncture spot on the earlobe helps to reduce nausea.

Duke75

Waste of time I'm afraid. Acupuncture is based on a metaphysical concept of which there is no plausible scientific rationale. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience. The recent large scale blind over studies which have been conducted have shown acupuncture, in clinical trials to be no more than a placebo effect. Most evidence has dismissed the idea of acupuncture aiding pain relief as anecdotal. With regards to the small scale studies which appear to support acupuncture, one also has to take into account the 'experimental effect' which is similar to the placebo. Edit 'Dr' T: I challenge YOU to provide a link to a reliable large scale study which conclusively proves acupuncture works. Cheers!

Rhianna does Medicine Year 3

Bit of a pointless question I am afraid a recent quite large study clearly showed that acupuncture is no more effective than random needle sticks, ie its effects are no greater than placebo.

Dr Frank

there is no demonstrable effect with acupuncture in general. just get a piercing.

evirustheslaye

It will be a complete waste of time and money insofar as your health and well-being are concerned.

Doc Bill

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