In one sense, this is a strange question. If you were to ask the two billion or so people living in China and South East Asia, they would all accept acupuncture as a routine part of their medicine. Its history goes back more than three thousand years. What is there to doubt? Well, if you ask the medical profession in the West which has grown up with the scientific method, there is skepticism. Their worries start with the basis of the treatment. The insertion of needles is designed to change the flow of qi, an invisible life force that flows through the body. Go into any clinic practising acupuncture and you will find yourself gazing at very detailed charts showing the fourteen meridians critical to the flow of qi and the 365 trigger points. So sticking needles into the body at the trigger points corresponding to the disorder to be treated is supposed to manipulate this invisible force. The majority tend to dismiss all this as mysticism and magic. Yet there is absolutely no doubt that it is considered effective by vast numbers of people.
When the Western doctors are asked about this, they tend to smile indulgently and refer to the placebo effect. This is the power of the mind to produce impressive physical results if the individual believes good things will come from the treatment. This explains why an average of one-third of participants in clinical trials report an improvement in their condition even though they are taking a chemically inactive pill. In China, people have been brainwashed for three thousand years. It is hardly surprising they should believe strongly enough in acupuncture for it to have a good outcome for them. Yet, this patronizing dismissal is being challenged by scientists.
If you compare the body charts showing the meridians, these match the modern anatomy diagrams. The 365 trigger points correspond to the main nerve bundles around the body. Using the latest in imaging technology, researchers are documenting very precise changes in brain activity when needles are inserted. Ultrasound shows blood flow does increase in treated areas. Inflammation is shown to subside by thermal imaging. These results are involuntary, i.e. they occur regardless whether the test subject believes or is skeptical. In fact, so persuasive is the emerging pattern of evidence that the US Department of Defense allows the use of acupuncture alongside conventional medicine when it comes to treating serving members of the three services. This means acupuncture is deployed both in the US and in active theaters of war. In the civilian population, 3.2 million people had acupuncture in 2007. The practice is regulated. US states require practitioners to be licensed. The FDA requires the use of sterile needles. It is becoming a part of the mainstream medical response, particularly in the management of chronic pain.
If you listen to the skeptics and the pharmaceutical industry, you are wasting your time and money to pay for acupuncture (although some health plans do cover it). Tramadol is the first response for moderate to severe pain. It has a scientific basis for its record of safety and effectiveness. Yet for those prepared to approach the treatment with an open mind, acupuncture is safe and, for many, an effective way of reducing pain. Perhaps the answer is two string to your bow. Try acupuncture but keep the tramadol to hand just in case the magic fails to work
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