Acupuncture speeded up recovery of long thoracic nerve paralysis

Long thoracic nerve paralysis is a shoulder condition characterized by pain and loss of shoulder movement due to injury or damage to the long thoracic nerve. This nerve arises from three roots from the fifth, sixth and seventh cervical nerves (C5-7) and supplies to serratus anterior muscle that retains scapula to the chest wall. In addition serratus anterio muscle is also involved in forward arm activities, such as boxing, and in overhead activities. Due to its excessive length long thoracic nerve is more prone to injury through direct trauma and stretch. The treatments of long thoracic nerve injury include physiotherapy and surgery. Usually the recovery of the nerve takes a long time, up to 2 years.

Recently a case study of long thoracic nerve paralysis reported that acupuncture in combination with other therapies had speeded up recovery following nerve injury. Dr. Berger reported that a female paediatric patient aged 9 years with right long thoracic nerve palsy due to a ballet movement was admitted to his clinic. The patient was unable to participate in physiotherapy due to a complication of severe pain and other conditions. Acupuncture and other therapies such as electrical current were used to treat patient. Acupuncture was applied at different acupoints to alleviate the stress and pain, increase shoulder mobility and improve muscle spasm in the shoulder. After 13 treatment session over 2 months patient completely recovered with full normal function and resumed her normal activities including gymnastics and ballet practice. 

This report is another example showing acupuncture is able to relieve multiple symptoms during treatment.

Reference:                                                                                      

Berger P., Electrical  current  and  acupuncture  treatment  for  a  paediatric  patient with  a  recurring  long  thoracic  nerve  paralysis. Acupuncture  and  Related  Therapies  2  (2014)  14–18.   http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211766013000170

Acupuncture alleviates cancer therapy-related symptoms

Cancer patients develop various therapy-related symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, hot flashes, leukopenia, fatigue, dysponea and xerostomia after either pharmacological, chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatments. These symptoms affect the quality of life of cancer patients. Pharmacological treatments have very limited effects on the symptoms and may cause adverse effects. So many cancer patients seek alternative medications. Acupuncture is one of the most commonly used treatments.

Clinical studies found that acupuncture treatment has beneficial effects on many cancer therapy-related symptoms. Recent review study by Dr. Towler and colleagues analysed the research data from 17 published investigations and found acupuncture is widely used symptom management in cancer supportive and palliative care.  Acupuncture can improve the quality of life of people with advanced diseases by alleviating one or even multiple symptoms mentioned above during treatment.

Reference:

Towler P et al., What is the evidence for the use of acupuncture as an intervention for symptom management in cancer supportive and palliative care: an integrative overview of reviews. Support Care Cancer. 2013 Oct; 21(10):2913-23. doi: 10.1007/s00520-013-1882-8.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23868190

Acupuncture treatment is safe during pregnancy

Women during pregnancy may suffer from various conditions that may affect the pregnant women’s health and the normal development and delivery of baby. Concerns over drug-related adverse effects during pregnancy prompted increase in approaches of other non-pharmacological treatments. Among them, acupuncture as a treatment for various pregnancy conditions has attracted considerable attentions. Many studies showed its benefits in treating conditions such as pregnant-related vomit and nausea, breech position, low back and pelvic pain, delayed labour onset and labour pain. However safety issues over acupuncture treatment during pregnancy still exist.

Recently a group of scientists led by Dr. Hyangsook Lee in Korea studied the safety of acupuncture during pregnancy. They analysed 105 clinical studies concerning adverse effects of acupuncture and found that

“Detailed adverse effects were reported only in 25 studies represented by 27 articles (25.7%). Adverse effects evaluated as certain, probable or possible in the causality assessment were all mild/moderate in severity, with needling pain being the most frequent. Severe adverse effects or deaths were few and all considered unlikely to have been caused by acupuncture. Total adverse effect incidence was 1.9%, and the incidence of adverse effects evaluated as certainly, probably or possibly causally related to acupuncture was 1.3%”.

The authors conclude that “acupuncture during pregnancy appears to be associated with few adverse effects when correctly applied.” Indeed, acupuncture offers a safe, effective and drug-free option during pregnancy.

Reference:

Park J et al., The safety of acupuncture during pregnancy: a systematic review. Acupunct Med. 2014 Feb 19. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2013-010480. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24554789

Improve acupuncture needle quality is needed

Acupuncture has been used to treat many conditions in China and other Asian countries for a very long time. Acupuncture is a safe and tolerated modality and accounts for approximately 40% of all medical treatment in China and is one of the most commonly sought alternative medical treatments in Western countries. Although the quality of acupuncture needles used worldwide is high it needs to be improved to avoid many potential problems such as discomfort and pain.

Recently Professor Xie and colleagues in Australia investigated the qualities of sterilised single-use stainless steel acupuncture needles from two of the most popular brands used worldwide. They used scanning electron microscope to check the surface conditions and various other physical properties of chosen needles.

They reported that “The scanning electron microscope images revealed significant surface irregularities and inconsistencies at the needle tips, especially for needles from one of the two brands. Metallic lumps and small, loosely attached pieces of material were observed on the surfaces of some needles. Some of the lumps and pieces of material seen on the needle surfaces disappeared after the acupuncture manipulation”.  

The authors urge acupuncture manufactures to review and improve their quality control procedures for the fabrications of needles. Acupuncture needles with better quality should reduce pain and discomfort and improve safety standards.

Reference:

Xie YM et al., Examination of surface conditions and other physical properties of commonly used stainless steel acupuncture needles. Acupunct Med 2014;32:146-154 doi:10.1136/acupmed-2013-010472.  http://aim.bmj.com/content/32/2/146

Acupuncture enhances neurogenesis in mammalian adult brain

In adulthood nerves outside of brain and spine cord are able to regenerate after being damaged. The affected part of the body can regain the function. However it was believed that in adulthood brain and spine cord neuron regeneration is unlikely. The loss of neurons in the brain and spine cord, due to injury, disease and aging were considered to be permanent in mammals. The study showing neurogenesis capacity in the adult mammalian brain reported in 1965 raised the hope that adult mammalian brain has intrinsic reparative power. Manipulations enhancing the neurogenesis can be a new approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative disoreders.  However how to enhance neurogenesis in adult brain is a big challenge.

Acupuncture has been used to treat stroke, spine cord injury in China. Earlier acupuncture treatment enhances the recovery in patients with spine cord injury or stroke. Recently acupuncture is used to treat Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

What are the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture treatment of neurological disorders?

Studies reported that Zusanli (ST36) is the most common acupoint used in adult brain neurogenesis. Electronic acupuncture stimulation at Zusanli enhanced cell proliferation and differentiation in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone of lateral ventricles in brain. The dentate gyrus is closely associated with memory formation. Both subventricular zone and dentate gyrus serves as a source of new stem cells in the process of adult neurogenesis.

The results of the studies indicated that acupuncture stimulated growth of stem cells in adult brain. It is possible new stem cells may migrate to other brain areas to replace the damaged or lost neurons. This may explain at least partially that enhancing neurogenesis can be one of mechanisms of acupuncture efficacy for some neurological disorders such as stroke, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Reference:

Nam MH et al., Acupuncture stimulation induces neurogenesis in adult brain. In BY Zeng, K Zhao & FR Liang (Eds), Neurobiology of Acupuncture (Int Rev Neurobiol. Vol. 111: pp. 67-90). New York: Academic Press.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24215918

Auricular acupuncture relieves withdrawal symptoms of addiction

Acupuncture treatment of drug addiction was accidentally discovered by Dr. H.L. Wen, a Hong Kong neurosurgeon in 1972. He was treating a patient for a concussion. The patient was also known as an opium addict and Dr. Wen proposed a cingulutomy as treatment for the addiction. A cingulutomy is a prefrontal lobotomy that severs certain functions between the two frontal hemispheres. The patient was anaesthetised using acupuncture. Even before the operation began, the withdrawal symptoms were decreased and even disappeared altogether. The operation was cancelled. Every time the withdrawal symptoms reoccurred, the patient was treated with acupuncture until they stopped occurring at all. In 1985, Dr. Smith, in New York, finalized a protocol, using only ear points without electrical stimulation for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Recently, Professor Han from Beijing University, China, characterized a protocol, using electrical stimulation of identified frequencies on body points to ameliorate heroin withdrawal signs and reduce relapse of heroin use.

Auricular acupuncture for addictions is effective in relieving the symptoms of withdrawal, including decreasing the severity of cravings, body aches, headaches, nausea, sweating and muscle cramping. People also report that they sleep better, feel less depressed and more relaxed. During an auricular acupuncture session participants often have small sterile needles inserted into five points on the outer ear. Some needles are used to relax and calm the person, while the others are used to help detoxify different areas of the body (liver, kidneys and lungs etc).

Auricular Acupuncture is helpful in treating a range of addictions including alcohol, nicotine, other drugs and addictive behaviours like gambling, even internet addiction disorder.

References:

Lua PL., Altern Ther Health Med. 2013 Jul-Aug;19(4):28-42.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23981370

Acupuncture treatment prevents recurrence of heart palpitations

Heart palpitations, also called arrhythmias, are abnormal heart rhythms. You may experience them as pounding, fluttering sensation or beating irregularly in your chest, or even in your throat or neck sometimes. Heart palpitations often last from seconds to minutes. Heart palpitations are often caused by excessive intake of caffeine, alcohol, a strong emotional response such as anger or anxiety, hormone changes associated with menstruation or pregnancy, medications containing stimulants.  Heart palpitations are, in most cases, harmless and should not be a sign of a problem with the heart. However, if heart palpitations occur often or are accompanied by other problems such as dizziness or tightness in the chest, you should take them serious and seek the doctor’s advice.

Because of its balancing nature, acupuncture works well to regulate the body’s haemostasis including the rhythm of the heart. Recently Drs Breyno and Aktas reviewed many clinical studies about acupuncture treatment with heart palpitations and showed that acupuncture is an effective treatment for cardiac heart palpitations such as atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, inappropriate sinus tachycardia and symptomatic premature ventricular contractions. In another study patients with persistent atrial fibrillation were treated with acupuncture once a week for 10 weeks. Through a year of follow-up, the recurrence of atrial fibrillation was similar in patients between acupuncture treated group and antiarrhythmic drug, amiodarone treated group. The study reported that acupuncture treatment prevents arrhythmic recurrence and is safe and well-tolerated.

Reference:

Brenyo A, Aktas MK., Am J Cardiol. 2014 Mar 1;113(5):897-903. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24528618

Lomuscio A., J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2011 Mar;22(3):241-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20807278