A Close up Look at Acupuncture for
Pain
A growing number of Americans would prefer to stop popping
pills and avoid going under the knife to treat a bum knee, achy lower back or
sore hip. Instead, they’re turning to the ancient Chinese practice of
acupuncture to help ease chronic joint pain.
More than 14 million Americans have tried acupuncture,
according to the most recent statistics from the National Health Interview
Survey, a large ongoing study that tracks healthcare habits in the U.S. The
study found that nearly six percent of Americans have allowed themselves to be
pricked with dozens of slender needles to help alleviate chronic pain, up from
just one percent of patients a decade ago.
“Use of acupuncture has been percolating for quite a while
and it’s now becoming much more mainstream in medicine,” said Dr. Houman
Danesh, director of integrative pain management at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New
York.
So mainstream in fact, that it’s one of the few so-called
“complimentary” or alternative medicine approaches covered by most health
insurance plans. Even the military uses auricular acupuncture, a form of
acupuncture that involves gently inserting small needles into various places on
the ear that correspond with pain points elsewhere on the body.
Research studies consistently show
that acupuncture can be an effective form of pain management, with some studies
finding it even more effective than pain-relieving drugs or surgery. But
exactly how it works remains somewhat of a mystery, Danesh admits.
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