How does Acupuncture work?

You may have heard that acupuncture has been shown to be effective for treating chronic pain. But how can a few needles placed at select points of the body bring about healing? In Oriental Medicine, the explanation is simple. There are energy channels in the body through which flows ‘qi’, or life energy. When this qi is blocked, or the flow between different channels is out of balance, disease occurs in the body. Acupuncture needles act to remove this blockages and balance the flow of qi in the body.

If you have spend a lot of time doing Qi Gong (breathing and movement exercises), you might have experienced this flow of qi in your body. But our Western minds need a scientific explanation to accept something. When we can understand something in familiar terms, we are more willing to embrace it or at least keep an open mind.

How then does science explain the therapeutic benefits of acupuncture?

A simple explanation stems from the observation that many acupuncture points are located at areas with a rich supply of nerve endings, blood vessels, and lymph vessels. The needle acts as local irritation to stimulate the nerves and increase the flow of blood and lymph fluid.

The first theory put forth to explain acupuncture was with the “gate theory of pain”, which states that perception of pain results from the interplay of excitatory and inhibitory nerve fibers. The needles, then, act, to stimulate inhibitory fibers. But this does not explain why the effects of acupuncture can last a long time.

Today, it is known that acupuncture leads to the release of natural pain killers in the body, known as endogenous opoids, which include endorphins and enkephalins. It has been shown through numerous studies that this is the case.

But perhaps the most exciting explanation revolves around the newly recognized regulatory system based in the connective tissues in the body. The connective tissues line every nook and cranny in the body. The perineural system consists of all the connective tissues around the nerves. There are twice as many perineural cells in the brain as there are neurons. The brain is more connective tissue than nerves! Until recently, scientists thought that these cells in the brain have only a supportive structure. Now, it is known that they conduct information. While the nervous system responds quickly to stimulus, the perineural system responds slowly and more globally. It is the perineural system that is involved in the repair of tissues. For example, when you cut yourself, a slow wave, called an injury potential, spreads through the whole body, informing the body of the injury. And until recently, scientists though that cells in our bodies are like fluid-filled sacs. But now we recognize that the cytoskeleton inside the cell is directly connected to the fibers in the connective tissue through molecules called integrins. The body has a lot more structure than we thought.

No matter where an acupuncture needle is placed, it is contacting connective tissues and sending signals through this regulatory system. I have often felt the connective tissues ‘grip’ the needle, an experience many acupuncturists and patients collaborate.