STICK IT TO PAIN

By Brenda Goodman

Shared by a Beineinu parent

New research shows how acupuncture brings relief

     Technology is helping scientists see how acupuncture, the ancient practice of using long, thin needles to stimulate specific points on the body, reduces pain.

     Richard Harris, PhD, of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan Health System, recruited 20 women who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, for at leaset one year.  Half of the women got traditional Chinese acupuncture, and the other half had sham acupuncture.  During the first and last treatments, they were injected with a radioactive tag that binds to special receptors that block the transmission of pain signals in the brain.

     When the scientists scanned the brains of the study participants during their first treatments, and then a month later, after eight treatment sessions, the results showed that Chinese acupuncture increased the activity of the pain-killing receptors in the brain, while treatment with sham acupuncture did not.  “We were very excited,” Harris says.  “Our study was the first to really show this in pain patients.”

     One implication of the study is that pain patients may be able to take lower doses of opioid medications by using those drugs in conjunction with acupuncture, but Harris says further studies will be needed to support that theory.  Harris says acupuncture has virtually no side effects, so people who want to try it for pain relief should work with their doctors to find a qualified practitioner.