Numerous clinical studies have shown that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of a wide range of chronic pain conditions, without any adverse effects.
Postoperative pain, headaches, migraine prevention, neck pain, chronic low back pain, dysmenorrhea or gonarthrosis and other pain can be alleviated by acupuncture, such as cancer pain, childbirth pain or acute low back pain. Acupuncture also has results in the treatment of fibromyalgia and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Acupuncture activates several opiates produced by the body. This reaction can be explained by a neurobiological model. Acupuncture also contributes significantly to the fight against the opiate crisis and helps patients suffering from chronic pain and opiate addiction by offering a non-addictive, non-pharmacological and harmless strategy.
References and links:
- Verhamme (2019) Are we facing an opioid crisis in Europe.
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(19)30156-2/fulltext
- DeWeerdt (2019) Tracing US opioid crisis to its roots. Naturehttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02686-2
- OECD Health Policy Studies (2019) Addressing Problematic Opioid Use in OECD Countries.
https://www.oecd.org/health/addressing-problematic-opioid-use-in-oecd-countries-a18286f0-en.htm - Ruchat (2018) Opioid consumption from 1985 to 2015: The situation in Switzerland, with an international comparison. Rev Med Suisse
https://www.revmed.ch/RMS/2018/RMS-N-612/Consommation-d-opioides-entre-1985-et-2015-chiffres-suisses-et-mise-en-perspective-internationale - Davis Pluss (2019) Gaps found in opioid prescription oversight in Switzerland. Swissinfo.ch.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/opioid-crisis_gaps-found-in-opioid-prescription-oversight-in-switzerland/45338402 - Volkow (2017) The Role of Science in Addressing the Opioid Crisis. NEJM
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr1706626 - Vickers (2018) Acupuncture for Chronic pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. The journal of Pain https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(17)30780-0/abstract
- Jiang-Ti Kong (2018) Exploring the muiltiple roles of acupuncture in alleviating the opioid crisis. J. Alternat Complmen Med.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5963592/ - Niemtzow (2018) The opioid crisis: our acupuncture challenges and responsibilities. Med. Acupunct.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acu.2017.29071.rcn?journalCode=acu
- Gong (2018) Acupuncture and the Opioid Epidemic in America. Chin J Integr Medhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29752610
- Ali (2019) Acupuncture/Electroacupuncture as an Alternative in Current Opioid Crisis - Chin J Integr Med.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31630362 - NCCAOM (2019) Addressing the Opioid Crisis through Non-Pharmacological Acupuncture Interventions.
https://www.nccaom.org/advocacy-regulatory/opioid-crisis/ - National Geographic (01.2020) Pain.https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/01/scientists-are-unraveling-the-mysteries-of-pain-feature/