Merdeka.com – For those of you who like alternative medicine, you must be familiar with the term acupuncture therapy. Some people may have experienced various benefits of this therapy, but still need scientific evidence that can strengthen this.
Acupuncture itself is an alternative medicine which is done by inserting a small and thin needle into one part of the body which is done at different depths.
An article published by the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health in the United States mentions there are several diseases in the study that can be treated with acupuncture methods.
Acupuncture is a technique in which the practitioner will stimulate certain points on the body and most often by inserting a thin needle through the skin tissue. This is a practice that has been known for a long time in traditional Chinese medicine.
Benefits of Acupuncture
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The results of a number of related studies have shown that acupuncture can help relieve various types of often chronic pain such as low back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis / knee pain. This therapy can also help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches.
Therefore, acupuncture seems to be a reasonable option for chronic pain sufferers to consider. Some of the benefits of acupuncture that we can get include:
Upper Back Pain and Neck Pain
1. Overcome Lower Back Pain
The first benefit of acupuncture is that it can treat low back pain. A 2010 study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that acupuncture relieves low back pain immediately after treatment but not over a longer period of time.
Additionally, a clinical study conducted by the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians in 2007 recommended acupuncture as one of the few nondrug approaches that doctors should consider when patients with chronic low back pain do not respond to self-care (a practice that people can do. by yourself, such as staying active, applying heat, and taking pain medication).
2. Overcome Neck Pain
The next health benefit of acupuncture is that it can treat neck pain. An analysis in 2009 revealed that acupuncture was actually more beneficial for neck pain than simulated acupuncture, but that analysis was based on a small amount of evidence (only three studies with a small study population).
Additionally, a study conducted in Germany with more than 14,000 participants evaluated the addition of acupuncture to the usual treatment for neck pain. The researchers found that participants reported greater pain relief than those who did not receive it;
Treat Knee Pain, Headaches, And Other Conditions
3. Overcome Knee Pain
The third benefit of acupuncture is that it can treat knee pain. A clinical study conducted in Australia in 2014 involving 282 men and women showed that needle and laser acupuncture were slightly better at relieving knee pain due to osteoarthritis than without treatment, but no better than simulated laser acupuncture.
Furthermore, in a 2010 study of acupuncture for knee or hip osteoarthritis concluded that acupuncture was actually more helpful for osteoarthritis pain than simulated acupuncture or no acupuncture. However, the difference between actual and simulated acupuncture is very small, whereas the difference between acupuncture and no acupuncture is very large.
4. Relieve Headaches
The next benefit of acupuncture is that it can help relieve headaches. A systematic review of studies conducted in 2009 concluded that actual acupuncture, compared to simulated acupuncture or painkillers, helped people with tension-type headaches.
A systematic review of studies in 2008 showed that acupuncture actually had a very small advantage over simulated acupuncture in reducing tension-type headache intensity and the number of headache days per month.
5. In Other Conditions
A study that combines data from 11 clinical trials with more than 1,200 participants suggests that acupuncture (and acupuncture point stimulation) may help with certain symptoms associated with cancer treatment. For other diseases and habits such as depression and smoking, further research is still needed regarding the benefits of acupuncture.
Risks of Doing Acupuncture
In fact, relatively few complications from acupuncture have occurred. However, complications have occurred due to the use of non-sterile needles and the administration of medication that was considered inappropriate.
In addition, if acupuncture is not performed properly, it can cause serious side effects, including infections, punctured organs, collapsed lungs, and injuries to the central nervous system.
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Facial acupuncture illumination. © shutterstock.com/Yuri Arcurs