Naturopathy Acupuncture for pain therapy

Study proves success of acupuncture in pain

02/12/2010

Acupuncture has been successfully used in pain therapy for some time, for example for back pain. With the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers from the University Hospital Essen have now for the first time demonstrated the effects of acupuncture on the processing of pain in the brain in an imaging procedure.

The scientists of the University of Essen have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to visualize those parts of the brain that are activated in pain. For this purpose, they applied a painful electric current to the 18 healthy adults involved in the study via an electrode on the left ankle and recorded the reaction of the brain with the help of the fMRI. The experiment was then repeated, but the subjects were treated with acupuncture needles to reduce the sensation of pain prior to the pain. This is how the scientists got Dr. Nina Theysohn from the Essen University Hospital took various pictures of the brain's response, which they were able to compare after the experiments. In each case before and after the pain impulses with the help of the fMRT images of the brain were created, which let recognize, which which brain regions were activated by the pain stimulus. The comparison of the images showed the differences in pain perception without and with previous acupuncture.

Pain could be reduced

The comparison made possible on the basis of the fMRI showed, according to Dr. Nina Theysohn from the Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance in Essen, Germany, that acupuncture significantly reduced or modulated the pain sensation at different wards. Thus, as expected, various sections of the pain pathways and pain processing were activated by the pain stimulus in the brain, but after acupuncture, the activation of the involved in the perception of pain brain areas had been significantly reduced or altered. In addition, other areas of the brain were addressed by the acupuncture needles, which also influenced the processing of pain stimuli, explained Dr. med. Nina Theysohn. Obviously, the perception and processing of pain in the brain is influenced by acupuncture, concludes the study presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

In the study, the participants were contralateral, d. H. on opposite sides of the body (to separate the effects of pain and needlestick sensation), acupuncture at three acupoints between the toes, below the knee and near the thumb (LI10, LV3 and ST36). In the course of the subsequent evaluation of the fMRI images, all participants showed a similar reduction in activation in the corresponding brain areas and additional activation of other brain segments. In most cases, a nonspecific effect, which could indicate a placebo effect, can be ruled out, because the images also showed specific effects of the acupuncture, which were not due to an expectation of the participants, explained Dr. med. Nina Theysohn at presentation of the study results. In pain therapy, the current findings could mean another breakthrough for acupuncture, as they clearly show that appropriate treatment reduces pain perception. (Fp)

Also read:
Acupuncture helps with pain
Acupuncture effective in pregnancy depression
New study: Acupuncture in the brain is effective?
Health insurance accepts acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis