How Does Acupuncture Work?
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have been effective for treating disease for over 3000 years, and modern research is beginning to understand why. Bridging Chinese medicine with conventional western medicine is important to integrate these systems appropriately and to establish understanding within the medical community.
The neuro-endocrine-immune (NEI) network is considered by researchers to be the major regulatory system of the body. The nervous, endocrine, and immune systems share many of the same signaling chemicals and receptors, which allow them to work together to establish proper functioning in the body. Acupuncture can directly affect these systems via the skin.
Our skin is the largest organ in the body, and has an abundance of nervous, endocrine and immune tissues. During a treatment, acupuncture needles send informational impulses directly into the skin and thereby, directly into the NEI network. Acupuncture can treat so many conditions because it accesses the body’s primary regulatory mechanism directly.
The nervous system has long been understood to coordinate muscle activity, monitor organ function, and process sensory information. Acupuncture activates the nervous system by stimulating neurochemicals, the molecules responsible for all neural activity. Functional imaging techniques, like MRI and PET scans, show that acupuncture engages distinct regions of the brain during treatment. This research demonstrates acupuncture’s ability to directly impact the nervous system.
The endocrine system is a collection of glands that make regulatory substances known as hormones. These hormones play a key role in metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood. Studies show that acupuncture can regulate levels of stress hormones, sex hormones and thyroid hormones.
The immune system is the defense system in the body that protects us from infectious organisms and other threats, all known as antigens. The immune system can also be compromised by chronic diseases and cancer. Modern studies show that inserting acupuncture needles therapeutically activates a local and systemic immune response.
The NEI network is the most important way that the body regulates itself. The Chinese have understood this ancient medicine in the context of yin and yang for millennia, and now, modern scientists are beginning to understand acupuncture through the NEI network. Studies demonstrate that acupuncture interacts with the NEI network to regulate function and promote health. Acupuncture is an excellent tool to treat a growing list of concerns and disease.
1. https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article/107/5/341/1563714
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072574/\
3. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/932581/
4. https://www.livescience.com/26496-endocrine-system.html
5. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9789/1ddfc9333484c7cc822790c9e1eac7dcbc5d.pdf
Written By Jennifer Peterson, MSOM, LAc
