Contemporary Acupuncture Effects Part 1

As I mentioned in a previous post, contemporary medical acupuncture is about stimulating nerves with the use of fine needles to have a goal directed effect on the nervous system. The age old tradition of acupuncture has taken on new meaning in recent years in light of new research on its mechanisms of action. When I talk to people about acupuncture it's usually a response of "I had acupuncture and it worked great!" or "it didn't do anything for me." When people answer in terms of acupuncture working or not working it usually is a reflection of the mechanism of pain relief that is part of the needling response. However the mechanisms of pain relief (or other benefits for that matter) may be influenced by several mechanisms and the effects of the needle take place at several "layers" of the body. To expand on the mechanisms, the needle effects take place at the local, segmental, and supraspinal (extrasegmental and central) levels. I'll review these mechanisms in upcoming posts.