Psychological Factors in Acupuncture for Back Pain

 

Belief in Acupuncture Key to Effect on Back Pain, Study Suggests

By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Feb. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture for back pain is more likely to help people who believe the treatment will work, new research suggests.
The study included 485 people who received acupuncture for back pain and completed questionnaires before they began treatment, at two and three months into treatment, and then again at six months after treatment.
Patients who had low expectations of acupuncture before they began the therapy gained less benefit than those who believed it would work, according to the researchers at the University of Southampton in England.
The investigators also found that patients who had a positive view of their back pain and felt in control of their condition had less back-related disability while undergoing acupuncture.
The findings, published in the March issue of the Clinical Journal of Pain, showed that "psychological factors were consistently associated with back-related disability," study author Dr. Felicity Bishop said in a university news release.
"When individual patients came to see their back pain more positively, they went on to experience less back-related disability," Bishop said.
"In particular," she explained, "they experienced less disability over the course of treatment when they came to see their back pain as more controllable, when they felt they had better understanding of their back pain, when they felt better able to cope with it, were less emotional about it, and when they felt their back pain was going to have less of an impact on their lives."
One arthritis doctor said the study findings illustrate an important point.
"This study emphasizes the influence of the placebo effect on pain. The process whereby the brain's processing of different emotions in relation to their treatment can influence outcome is a really important area for research," Dr. Stephen Simpson, director of research at Arthritis Research UK, said in the news release.
Arthritis Research UK funded the study.

Acupuncture for Myofascial Pain

Acupuncture for Myofascial Pain

Acupuncture stimulates points on the body, influencing the perception of myofascial pain or altering physiologic functions. The aim was to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture (EAC) and acupuncture (AC) for myofascial pain of the upper trapezius and cervical range of motion, using SHAM acupuncture as control. Sixty women presenting at least one trigger point at the upper trapezius and local or referred pain for more than six months were randomized into EAC, AC, and SHAM groups. Eight sessions were scheduled and a follow-up was conducted after 28 days. The Visual Analog Scale assessed the intensity of local and general pain. A fleximeter assessed cervical movements. Data were analyzed using paired t or Wilcoxon's tests, ANOVA or Friedman or Kruskal-Wallis tests and Pearson's correlation (α=0.05). There was reduction in general pain in the EAC and AC groups after eight sessions (P<0.001). A significant decrease in pain intensity occurred for the right trapezius in all groups and for the left trapezius in the EAC and AC groups. Intergroup comparisons showed improvement in general pain in the EAC and AC groups and in local pain intensity in the EAC group (P<0.05), which showed an increase in left rotation (P=0.049). The AC group showed increases in inclination (P=0.005) sustained until follow-up and rotation to the right (P=0.032). EAC and AC were effective in reducing the pain intensity compared with SHAM. EAC was better than AC for local pain relief. These treatments can assist in increasing cervical range of motion, albeit subtly.

Source: Aranha MF, Müller CE, Gavião MB. Pain intensity and cervical range of motion in women with myofascial pain treated with acupuncture and electroacupuncture: a double-blinded, randomized clinical trial. Braz J Phys Ther. 2015 Jan-Feb;19(1):34-43.

Can Chinese Medicine Treat Ebola?

A chemical within a traditional Chinese medicine has been found to be effective against Ebola

A chemical found in the Chinese herb known as Han Fang ji switches off the channels which the Ebola virus uses to enter and infect cells, according to research by US and German scientists.

The scientists found that using a small dose of the chemical tetrandrine, but not the herb itself, stopped the virus from replicating and protected mice from the disease without obvious side effects.

The discovery of the promising drug therapy against Ebola is announced in the journal Science.

Dr Robert Davey, of the Department of Immunology and Virology at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, says the small molecule Tetrandrine is a potent at inhibiting infection of human white blood cells in experiments and preventing Ebola virus disease in mice.

Scientists at Texas Biomed have been working in the Institute’s Biosafety Level 4 containment laboratory for more than 10 years to find a vaccine, therapies and detection methods for the Ebola virus.

The Ebola virus begins its entry into a cell by first binding to several types of cell surface proteins. Then the virus is taken into the cell and follows a route which transports the virus to cell compartments.

“When we tested in mice, the drugs stopped virus replication and saved most of them from disease,” Davey said.

This drug shows an ability to stop the virus before it has a chance interact with cells.

“We are very excited about the progress made in this study and the momentum it provides as scientists across the world vigorously search for effective vaccines and treatments against Ebola virus,” Davey said.

“We are cautiously optimistic. The next step in the process is to test both safety and effectiveness of the interaction of the drug with Ebola virus in non-human primates.”

So far 9,589 people have died in the West Africa Ebola outbreak, according to WHO (World Health Organisation).

Source of the report is here.

Acupuncture Gets its Overdue Respect

Acupuncture Gets its Overdue Respect

RACINE COUNTY — When Arthur Shattuck first came to Racine some 27 years ago as Racine’s first acupuncturist, some people he encountered were not even sure what acupuncture was.

That’s not the case anymore as even physicians and oncologists at local hospitals increasingly refer patients to him at Roots and Legends Chinese Medicine at 3209 Washington Ave. in West Racine. And that’s a common experience among other acupuncturists in the Racine area as knowledge and acceptance of the ancient Eastern form of healing spreads among the public in general.

Acupuncture incorporates the use of needles to stimulate pressure in points of the body and that has been found to provide relief for — and in some cases remedies — a whole host of ailments, from psychological disorders, to stress, to joint and muscle pain to gastrointestinal disorders even to cancer and erectile dysfunction, local practitioners say.

The needles

Many people are aware of the needle aspect of acupuncture and wonder whether it’s painful, how long a treatment takes and whether it is affordable.

“Just because you’re sticking needles in people, it’s interesting to people, it catches your eye,” says Keith Garofalo, who operates Red Dragon Acupuncture at 4401 Taylor Ave. near the Georgetown area.

But Shattuck and Garofalo say the needles don’t cause any more pain than a pinch or a mosquito bite. They are small, sterile and disposed of after use. A small discharge of capillary blood is not uncommon.

“We’re accustomed to the huge hypodermic and something that’s big and hollow and either shoving something into our body or taking something out,” said Christie Kern at Racine Community Acupuncture, 10502 Northwestern Ave. in Franksville. The needles acupuncturists use are “tiny and not hollow, so generally you don’t feel it. I always say that If you’re uncomfortable let me know and I’ll fix it.”

The typical treatment with the needles inserted lasts about 45 minutes, the local practitioners said. And once complete, the patients may not only be feeling relief for their ailments but also enjoying a side effect of the release of endorphins to the brain.

“There is such a relaxing side effect from it, people just sort of float out of here,” Shattuck said. “And sometimes people do it (acupuncture) just to relax.”

At Racine Community Acupuncture, Kern encourages people to doze a bit after their treatments.

To read more, click  here.

Perfect Number of Needles?

Perfect Number of Needles?

Acupuncture has been successfully used in myofascial pain syndromes. However, the number of needles used, i.e. the "dose" of acupuncture stimulation, to obtain the best antinociceptive efficacy, is still a matter of debate. The question was addressed comparing the clinical efficacy of 3 different therapeutic schemes, mainly characterized by different numbers of needles used on 90 patients affected by a painful cervical myofascial syndrome. Patients were divided into 3 groups; the first group of 30 patients was treated with 11 needles, the second group of 30 patients was treated with 5 needles and the third group of 30 patients was treated with 3 needles. Each group underwent eight cycles of somatic acupuncture. In each session and in each group, all needles were stimulated until the pain tolerance threshold was reached; "pain tolerance is the amount of pain a person can handle without breaking down, either physically or emotionally". Pain intensity was evaluated before therapy, immediately after, and at 1 and 3 months follow-up by means of both the Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Pain and the repercussion of pain on the patient's quality of life (DOPE- Descriptors Of Pain Effects) were also measured using a test we developed, administered at each session. In all groups, needles were inserted superficially, except for the two most painful trigger points that were deeply inserted. All groups, independently from the number of needles used, obtained a good and significant therapeutic effect without clinically relevant differences among groups. For this pathology and patients of this kind, the number of needles, 3 or 5 or 11, seems not to be an important variable in determining the therapeutic effect.

Source: Ceccherelli F, Marino E, Caliendo A, Dezzoni R, Roveri A, Gagliardi G. 3,5,11 needles: looking for the perfect number of needles--a randomized and controlled study. Acupunct Electrother Res. 2014;39(3-4):241-58.

A New Title for Chinese Medicine for Eye Disorders

Chinese Medicine for Aging Eyes

By (author)  Hoy Ping Yee Chan

By (author)  Carole Conlon

Combining practice from both Eastern and Western medical approaches, this book will help the TCM trained clinician as well as the ophthalmologist and optometrist to understand and utilize TCM techniques and protocols that address eye diseases commonly seen in senior patients. It correlates the WM disease condition name with the TCM diagnostic description and includes recommended acupuncture and Chinese medicinal therapy for conditions including blepharoptosis, myasthenia, dry eye, glaucoma, cataract, macular degeneration, occlusion, presbyopia, and diabetic retinopathy. Periocular needling technique using the ocuzone locations is covered, and there is a helpful section on preventive self-care routines for aging eyes and general health.

Chinese Medicine for Aging Eyes presents the Chinese and Western diagnosis & treatment of

• Glaucoma
• Cataract
• Ptosis
• Macular Degeneration
• Dry Eye
• Floaters
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Hypertensive Retinopathy
• And more common eye diseases of seniors along with a wealth of Self-Care Techniques.

For Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine

• Specialty training using Chinese herbs and acupuncture for the treatment of common eye diseases seen in seniors
• Eye diseases from a Western medical viewpoint
• When referral to Western medicine is critical
• When and how to integrate TCM and Western treatment for best results
• A wealth of self-care methods to share with patients.

For Proactive Seniors

• What happens to your eyes as you age
• Supplements and self-massage to slow or halt the progression of eye disease
• Awareness of both the strengths and weaknesses of Western and traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of eye disease

For Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, and Western Medical Practitioners

• Learn how Chinese medicine can help your senior patients in the prevention and treatment of eye disease and how an integrated healing approach can be the most effective