Acupuncture needles in a rainbow of colors.
Just some of the numerous research studies done on ACUPUNCTURE, including its benefits for people suffering with anxiety, depression, digestive issues, arthritis, and back pain. Acupuncture is a drugless therapy (by the way).
1. ANXIETY
Source: American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2007
It is accepted that emotional disturbances lead to immune impairment, and that treatment could restore the immune system. This study looked at the effect of acupuncture on anxiety. The acupuncture protocol involved needling 19 acupoints, with sessions lasting 30 minutes, performed on women aged 30-60 suffering from anxiety as measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Before and after receiving the acupuncture treatment blood samples were taken. The results showed that the most favorable effects of acupuncture on immune functions appear 72 hours after the single session and persist one month after the end of the complete treatment.
2. LUNGS
Source: National Medicine Journal, 2012
This study looked at the effects of acupuncture over 12 weeks on 68 sufferers of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, a form of lung disease. The results revealed far less breathlessness in the group given acupuncture.
3. DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Source: Cochrane Collaboration, 1986-2015
They looked at 59 studies during this period and found that the effectiveness of wrist acupoint PC-6 for stimulation of postoperative cases of nausea and vomiting to be comparable to that of anti-nausea drugs.
4. SKELETAL SYSTEM
Source: Arthritis and Rheumatology Review, 2008
Looked at eight acupuncture studies involving 536 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and found that, ”five studies revealed a reduction in erthrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), three reported a reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) and one noted a large decrease in both.” Both ESR and CRP are markers of inflammation in the body. Arthritis is a disease that causes painful inflammation.
5. SPINE
Source: Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal, 2008
Study shows that electro-acupuncture–a modified form of acupuncture treatment that involves a tiny, pulsating electrical current–was conducted on patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and that those patients experienced varying reductions in lower back pain and the distance they were able to walk increased.
6. BRAIN
Source: University of Arizona
34 women with depression underwent acupuncture targeted at specific points. Reduced symptoms were found in 43% of the women who received acupuncture. Eight weeks after the start of the study, more than half of the women who received targeted acupuncture were no longer experiencing depression. Some credit these results to acupuncture’s potential to release endorphins which act as natural painkillers in the body as well as to its ability to reduce the stress hormone cortisol.
* Studies found in Newsweek: Nature’s Remedies, 2017