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Acupuncture for Chronic Conditions

Acupuncture is a very versatile healthcare treatment widely practised across the UK and the world to help alleviate symptoms associated with both acute and chronic conditions. However, many people use acupuncture for symptomatic relief from chronic illness because there are limited conventional medical options, or the options that are available haven’t helped or have unwanted side effects.

How can acupuncture for chronic conditions help?

Acupuncture uses the Chinese medicine framework to diagnose, understand and mitigate symptoms and conditions. Acupuncture for chronic conditions seeks to address the root cause as well as the presenting symptoms through tapping into the body’s innate ability to heal and self-regulate. Western medicine often looks at the mind and body in isolation of each other leading to missed opportunities for integrated care. Acupuncture for chronic conditions looks at how matters of the mind can influence the body and vice versa. This integrated approach can be useful for addressing mental health issues in tandem with pain and other physical symptoms associated with a chronic illness.

Acupuncture for asthma and allergies

In the UK, 5.4 million people are receiving treatment for asthma and around 200,000 have severe asthma that does not respond to traditional treatments. There are many published studies showing how acupuncture may help relieve asthma by:

Having regulatory effects on mucosal and cellular immunity in patients with allergic asthma, as shown, for example, by changes in levels of immunoglobulins, eosinophils, T-lymphocytes and cytokines
Reducing bronchial immune-mediated inflammation, particularly through the balance between T helper 1 and 2 cells and their associated cytokines
Reducing inflammation in general by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors

Acupuncture for hypertension

At least 25% of UK adults have high blood pressure (hypertension). Research has shown that acupuncture treatment may specifically help to lower blood pressure by:

Regulating endothelium-derived vasoconstrictors (endothelin-1) and vasodilators (calcitonin gene-related peptide, nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase)
Increasing the release of adenosine, which inhibits the sensation of pain

Acupuncture for insomnia

Insomnia affects about a third of people in the UK. Acupuncture has been used to treat insomnia for centuries and recent research shows it works by:

Increasing melatonin secretion, the hormone that regulates sleep cycles
Increasing nitric oxide content, helping promote normal function of the brain, which helps relax the mind and improve sleep
Increasing blood flow, which can relax the body and mind, improving sleep quality
Reducing sympathetic nervous system activity, the fight or flight response. Calming the body and increasing relaxation

Interested in treating anxiety and chronic pain issues? See our acupuncture for anxiety and acupuncture for pain sections.

Acupuncture for Anxiety

Acupuncture for anxiety is a healthcare treatment widely practised across the UK and the world to alleviate symptoms of chronic anxiety. In 2013 there were over 8 million cases of anxiety disorder in the UK and in 2016 about 6 percent of all UK adults reported experiencing Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Anxiety spans a wide range of conditions including work-related stress, panic disorder, OCD, PTSD, exam stress, agoraphobia and is identified when someone experiences excessive worry on most days and has difficulty controlling these feelings which can include restlessness and irritability.

Acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. The resulting biochemical changes influence the body’s homeostatic mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional well-being.

Research has shown that acupuncture for anxiety may specifically benefit anxiety disorders and symptoms of anxiety by:

Acting on areas of the brain known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety and worry.
Regulating levels of neurotransmitters and hormones such as serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine, GABA, neuropeptide Y and ACTH; hence altering the brain’s mood chemistry to help to combat negative affective states
Stimulating production of naturally-occurring opioids within the body that affect the autonomic nervous system. Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, while acupuncture can activate the opposing parasympathetic nervous system, which initiates the relaxation response.
Reversing pathological changes in levels of inflammatory cytokines that are associated with anxiety and depression
Reversing stress-induced changes in behaviour and biochemistry

There are also preliminary positive findings for acupuncture for anxiety associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance misuse, eating disorders, hyperventilation, asthma, insomnia, post-stroke, musculo-skeletal pain and various other conditions where anxiety has been measured as a secondary rather than primary issue. Acupuncture for anxiety can be safely combined with conventional treatments such as medication or psycho-educational therapy, possibly enhancing their beneficial effects and reducing unwanted side-effects.

For further enquiries please get in touch

Acupuncture for Pain

Acupuncture for pain is a healthcare treatment widely practiced across the UK and the world. Chronic pain affects between one-third and one-half of the population of the UK – equivalent to about 28 million adults. Almost half of people with chronic pain have a diagnosis of depression. With two-thirds of people being unable to work outside their home. Western medicine’s first response to pain is medication, often potent opioid, pregabalin and gabapentin prescriptions. This can present risks and sometimes suboptimal benefits to the patient.

What is the relationship between acupuncture, health and pain?

The ancient art of acupuncture has been used in Asia for centuries to address many conditions and relieve pain. In fact, acupuncture is a practice 3,500 years older than traditional Western medicine. Traditional acupuncture is based on the belief that an energy, or “life force”, flows through the body in channels called meridians. This life force is known as Qi (pronounced “chee”).

Acupuncturists accept the understanding that when Qi does not flow freely through the body, this can cause illness. Therefore, acupuncture can restore the flow of Qi, and so restore health and relieve pain.

A growing body of evidence-based clinical research shows that traditional acupuncture safely mitigates a wide range of common health problems.

How does pain relief acupuncture work?

Traditional Chinese acupuncture involves the insertion of extremely fine needles into the skin at specific “acupoints”. This triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals, and by affecting the part of the brain that governs serotonin, a brain chemical involved with mood.

What conditions can acupuncture help with?

Most people recover from pain following an injury or operation. However, sometimes this pain becomes persistent or pain can start without any history of an injury or operation leading to chronic pain which can be alleviated with acupuncture.

Acupuncture can help people living with:

back, neck, knee pain
recurring headaches and migraines
diabetes
arthritis
fibromyalgia
irritable bowel syndrome

Acupuncture can be used as a complementary therapy to control symptoms in the treatment of cancer. Some of these symptoms can be discomfort associated with nausea, fatigue and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

For further enquiries please get in touch