- neck pain (Cervicalgia)
- headache
- fibromyalgia
- osteoarthritis
- tendinopathy
- trigeminal neuralgia
- postherpetic neuralgia (shingles)
- shoulder, knee, hip pain
What Science Says
One of the most successful fields of acupuncture is the treatment of pain.
Science confirms that acupuncture is effective in treating pain. Scientific studies have shown that acupuncture can be used as an effective form of therapy for chronic pain.
At both international and national levels, acupuncture has been officially included in the guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain, with particular attention to conditions such as migraines and chronic lower back pain.
The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) has included acupuncture in its guidelines from July 25, 2022, for the treatment of chronic pain. The guidelines recommend using acupuncture before medications to prevent and treat these conditions, which, if not properly addressed, can become chronic.
One of the most successful fields of acupuncture is the treatment of pain
What are the benefits?
One of the main advantages of acupuncture is that it does not use chemicals, so it is free from side effects, which can occur with medications used to treat pain. Additionally, acupuncture has no contraindications and can be used even in the presence of other conditions or during pregnancy. When necessary, it can also be combined with other treatments you are already receiving.
What conditions can be treated?
The recent guidelines from the Italian National Institute of Health recommend acupuncture for migraine and chronic low back pain. Other pain syndromes that can be effectively treated with excellent results include:
Why does acupuncture work?
The medicines we take daily for various ailments, including pain, alter the chemistry of our bodies, which in turn is converted into electrical stimuli by our cells. Acupuncture acts directly on the electricity that constantly flows through our body and allows it to perform all its functions.
Acupuncture is effective because it acts directly on the body’s electricity, altering electrical signals and improving the functionality of the nervous system, which in turn helps reduce pain and increases overall well-being.
If you are reading and understanding this article, it is nothing but the result of the electrical connections between the neurons in your brain!
How do needles block pain?
Needles inserted in the right points can interrupt and modify pain pathways scientific works
According to traditional Chinese medicine, needles work by modifying the energy that flows in our bodies. Conventional medicine (allopathic) explains that a needle inserted into a specific point on the body triggers a thermal reaction, dispersing the heat of inflamed tissues. Pain, once perceived, is carried through electrical impulses in the spinal cord, causing a series of reactions such as muscle contractions and vessel reactions (vasodilation/vasoconstriction).
The needle triggers the production of substances at the spinal cord level, such as enkephalins that block pain impulses, thus transmitted with less intensity along the way to the brain. This translates into a reduction in the amount of pain we perceive.
Acupuncture also acts directly at the brain level, causing the production of endogenous substances, i.e., produced by our body’s cells. The most important are endorphins, which reduce pain exactly like painkillers.
Acupuncture needles also act on the endocannabinoid system. This system produces small molecules and releases them under certain conditions. These molecules bind to CB1 and CB2 receptors, the same ones to which the substances that make up cannabis bind, and which are very numerous in our central nervous system.
In summary, acupuncture interferes with pain mechanisms at all levels: at the local level on inflammation, at the muscular level, at the level of pain transmission in the spinal cord up to the brain, and in the brain itself causing the production of substances that block pain just like drugs do, but naturally and without side effects.
Additionally, acupuncture stimulates the production of serotonin, the hormone of happiness, making acupuncture a natural analgesic and antidepressant.