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Keith Spaulding ND LAc
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Acupuncture, How
Does it Work? |
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Before I treat somebody with acupuncture for the first time, I explain how acupuncture works from the Chinese Medicine perspective; I take the time to talk a little about qi, the channels, and how moving the qi can affect the pain. Forty-five minutes later, when there back pain is less stiff, they are experiencing less pain and they can walk out of the office without grimacing, they ask me how does it really work?
If you want to truly understand the
concept of acupuncture, initially, you have to understand that there may
be many ways that correctly describe something. For almost one hundred
years now, physicist have accepted that if you describe light as a wave,
you can test it and it conforms to that description; if you describe it
as a particle you can test it and it conforms to that description. They
are both correct.
Chinese Medicine Theory
For acupuncture, from the perspective of Chinese Medicine theory, you
have to imagine that we have channels running throughout the body; there
are 12 main channels running vertically from the head to the feet and
horizontally from the chest to the fingertips. Forget that you can’t see
them or that they can’t be tested; do you think that the brain emitted
electric fields before we knew how to test it with EEGs?
The channels exist; I know they do. I put needles in particular points on the channels to affect the qi in the channel and there can be an almost immediate release of pain or stiffness. An acupuncturist sees a person out of balance; a theory is proposed of that person’s pattern of imbalance, then they treat on the basis of that theory usually using acupuncture or herbs. If they have a positive result, the theory should be remembered for the next time somebody comes with that pattern. Sounds simple right? It’s not really too simple, knowing how to make the theory you have to learn a lot about qi, and the whole basis of how the body functions using Chinese Medicine theory.
That is one description how
acupuncture works, and that is how most acupuncturists in the world
follow their craft; they, and I, need to know nothing else but the
Chinese Medicine theory to effectively treat people. Yet to help
acupuncture grow into the medical and popular mainstream, it is useful
to try to explain acupuncture using more traditional scientific methods
of equipment and testing. Again remember, none of these are exclusively
right – although some descriptions are better than others – nature can
be complicated like that.
Substance P
More than twenty years ago, scientists identified chemicals and hormones
released in the area near the point needled. The most important
chemical identified was Substance P, a
natural pain reliever that works locally. The theory proposed was this:
A person has back pain, you needle the back, Substance P is released,
and the back pain is relieved. Easy, acupuncture explained. This model
was the first accepted by the scientific community and opened the doors
to acupuncture in hospital settings and created the momentum allowing
researchers to attain more funds to study more. There are many problems
with this description: It says nothing about the channels and distal
needling (how, another effective way to treat back pain is to needle
points in a person’s hand); also discounting channels, it tells nothing
how acupuncture can work to help with organ problems. If acupuncture
only works locally, how can you help someone resolve their reflux
symptoms by needling next to their knee? This description is informative
but limited.
The Connective Tissue Link
Another possible description considers connective tissue. Connective
tissue is everywhere in the body. As fascia, it is the saran wrap
covering muscle fibers and whole muscles, it connects muscles to bones,
bones to bones, it surrounds the organs of the body, and it even forms
in sheets separating compartments of the body as well as covering the
whole thing. If you wanted to travel anywhere in the body from another
spot, along connective tissue would be an effective way. Actually many
energy body workers, like cranial sacral therapists, use the connective
tissue model to explain how they can release someone’s back by touching
their feet.
There is currently research being done testing the affects on connective
tissue cells when they are stimulated with acupuncture needles. The
cells wrap around the needle like spaghetti around a fork causing a
disruption in the area. The hypothesis follows that this disruption
causes signaling among the cells, release of hormones into the
bloodstream as well as communication from one connective tissue cell to
another. This research showed that many, but not all, acupuncture points
are areas that are plentiful of connective tissue cells and the
signaling could be messages sent along a direction that could be the
channels. The research is exciting showing how needling can have a
systemic affect but again the channel affects are a great leap in the
hypothesis.
The
Central Nervous System Link
The nervous system is a very likely candidate
when constructing a model to explain acupuncture. Nerves enter all
muscles and can have an immediate affect on the muscle if appropriately
stimulated; through the autonomic nervous system (parasympathetic and
sympathetic) the body can switch to a more relaxed state and change the
attention towards healing; nerves enter all organs and have important
actions of controlling those organs, by releasing hormones for example.
The nervous system is most likely involved with acupuncture stimulation,
but how does it affect it?
One theory follows from the gate theory. This theory helps describe how
electricity works, for example TENS, by modifying the signal that the
nerve is carrying. By affecting the “gate” so the brain sees normal
signal propagating in the nervous system rather than signals that spell
out pain. Again it doesn’t explain the systemic affects of acupuncture.
There has been some interesting research with acupuncture and MRI’s. A
certain point on the lower leg that is known to help with eye disorders
is stimulated using acupuncture, and an MRI is taken of the head.
Strangely the occipital area, which governs eye function, lights up
showing activity. This imaging is informative and definitely points to
nervous system activity with needling but doesn’t propose any model how
it happens.
Acupuncture works, that is not the question. Using Chinese Medicine
theory, we can explain how it works. Yet the philosophical and holistic
nature of Chinese Theory is not easily translated to scientific models.
To understand acupuncture you have to know that there are many ways to
describe it, all may be somewhat right, but some are better than others.
As more research occurs the methods to explain acupuncture using the
tools of science will become more complete.
I make it a rule to
never smoke more than one cigar at a time.
-- Mark Twain
Dying is a very dull,
dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing to do with it.
-- Somerset Maugham