MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE
- How Does It Work?
There are several mechanisms thought to be responsible for the effects of medical acupuncture on the body. These mechanisms can work alone or simultaneously to give great results.
Muscular pain can often be due to ischaemia (lack of blood flow) within 'tight' or 'knotted' tissue.
When a needle is inserted, movement is sensed and a vaso-dilating peptide is released to the area, opening the blood vessels. This significantly increases blood flow directly to the area and in turn reduces pain.
As well as the release of chemicals, inserting a needle into muscle sends information up the nerve which supplies that area of tissue. Here there is a suppression of the pain signal in the dorsal horn (section of spinal cord) which controls sensation. This process provides pain relief in the whole section that is supplied by this nerve.