- Acupuncture Wellness Center2525 Wallingwood Dr Bld 15
Suite 1502
Austin, Texas 78746512-565-9618 
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Acupuncture
Dr Oz Features Acupuncture “Facelift”
If you’ve been tempted to get a facelift but don’t want to go under the knife, this natural treatment may be for you.
To watch the video click here.
Moira’s November Newsletter
This month’s newsletter is all about treating neurological disorders with acupuncture. Check it out.
Moira’s October Newsletter
Do you suffer from IBS, Crohn’s or other digestive disorders? If you do, you will want to check out this month’s newsletter.
How Acupuncture Treats Inflammation
An article in the journal Mediators of Inflammation, “Anti-inflammatory actions of acupuncture” [1] outlines various ways one essential mechanism of acupuncture may stimulate the body’s inflammatory and anti-inflammatory activities.
Puncture by an acupuncture needle mobilizes the body’s own defenses, improves blood flow to organs, activates cell growth, and influences the movement of substances in and out of cells. Among the chemicals stimulated by the insertion of an acupuncture needle are neuropeptides such as calcitonine gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is a substance that both prevents and promotes some forms of inflammation. Another neuropeptide known as, Substance P, works in conjunction with CGRP to create edema and inflammation, both of which are important in containing an injury and bringing red and white blood cells and nutrition to the site of injury.
Acupuncture stimulates or otherwise influences the production of other substances involved in inflammation. Beta-endorphins, another group of neuropeptides, promote the analgesic (pain-reducing) effects of acupuncture. Cytokines, produced by white blood cells, “provide signals to regulate immunological aspects of cell growth and specific immune response” mostly local to their production but sometimes systemically.
[2] Nitric oxide (NO), used by the body to expand the size of blood vessels (vasodilatation), is another component of the inflammatory process that brings blood where it is needed. Acupuncture’s initial effect is thus to engage the body’s own defenses.
While “high levels of CGRP have been shown to be pro-inflammatory , . . . CGRP in low concentrations exerts potent anti-inflammatory actions . . . . Therefore, a well-performed and frequently applied ‘low-dose’ treatment of acupuncture could provoke a sustained release of CGRP with anti-inflammatory activity, without stimulation of pro-inflammatory cells.” This dual action, inflammatory and anti-inflammatory, may explain why acupuncture is effective in the short term for acute disorders and is also effective in the long term for chronic illness.
Notes:
1. Anti-inflammatory actions of acupuncture. Mediators of Inflammation, 12(2), 59-69 (April 2003). Freek J. Zijlstra, Ineke van den Berg-de Lange,Frank J. P. M. Huygen1 and Jan Klein.
2. Tabor’s Medical Dictionary, 18th Edition.
Study on acupuncture for back pain
A study conducted at Sheffield University in the United Kingdom looked at the long-term symptom reduction and economic benefits of acupuncture for persistent low back pain. An average of 8 acupuncture treatments were given to 159 people, while 80 people received usual care instead.
After one year, people receiving acupuncture had reduced pain and reported a significant reduction in worry about their pain compared to the usual care group. After two years, the acupuncture group was significantly more likely to report that the past year had been pain-free. They were less likely to use medication for pain relief.
How does acupuncture work? According to traditional Chinese medicine, pain results from blockages along energetic pathways of the body known as meridians. Acupuncture opens these pathways, increases circulation and thus relieves the pain.
A scientific explanation is that acupuncture releases natural pain-relieving opioids, sends signals that calm the sympathetic nervous system, and releases neurochemicals and hormones.
Acupuncture is tax-deductible (it’s considered a medical expense) and is covered by some insurance plans. Feel free to call our office and we can check on your specific coverage.
A normal course of treatment consists of one to three times a week for several weeks initially. Then routine maintenance is recommended to ensure the pain does not return.