Acupuncture For Asthma - Fact Or Fiction

Acupuncture for asthma may sound like an odd combination. One is a common disease that affects approximately 20 million Americans; the other is a mysterious, esoteric, alternative medicine technique. Lots of people have asthma, but not many people have tried acupuncture.

   

But if you are an asthma sufferer, it can seem at times that anything - even something as mysterious as acupuncture - is worth trying. Breathing is something that most us never think about. It's an unconscious process and unless we're ill, we easily get the oxygen we need. But for people with asthma, breathing is always on their minds. There is always the chance that an asthma attack will leave them gasping for air. Sometime these attacks are predictable and sometimes they are not, sometimes they are minor and easily handled at home, and sometimes asthma suffers end up in an emergency room. It's no wonder that some asthma sufferers have turned to acupuncture for asthma.

    

Asthma is a chronic disease with no cure. There are different types of asthma, but they all produce the same signs and symptoms: rapid breathing, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and the uncomfortable sensation of suffocation. The exact cause of asthma is not known (there may be a genetic factor at work), but there is no doubt that environmental factors - cold, dust, pollution, etc - trigger the attacks. During the attacks, inflammation and constriction of the respiratory passages limit the amount of air that can be inhaled, the attacks can last for minutes or hours and as mentioned earlier, there is no cure. But although there is no cure, there are constant efforts to find new methods of treatment, and there are practitioners and patients who believe that acupuncture for asthma is the answer.

    

Acupuncture (the word comes from the Latin words acus, meaning needle, and pungere, meaning to puncture) is a very old system of medicine. It is not clear where acupuncture originates from, but it has been most closely associated with China. In acupuncture, very narrow needles are inserted into the skin (just barely penetrating the surface) at certain key points in the body. The needles are said to correct a disharmony in the flow of energy through the body, a disharmony that is said to be the cause of disease. Traditional, Western medicine has several theories about how acupuncture works (e.g., it may stimulate the release of natural pain relievers, endorphins) but has not yet completely explained how acupuncture.

Of course, the big question is, does acupuncture work? And can acupuncture successfully treat asthma? Well, not unlike the search for an explanation for how asthma works, the answers are not clear - and they depend on whom you ask. According to traditional acupuncturists, yes, acupuncture for asthma is an effective treatment, especially with asthma in young children. There are dozens of websites and thousands of testimonials that all attest to the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for asthma. Acupuncture, they say, has worked where nothing else has.

But ask the same question - does acupuncture for asthma work - of doctors and scientists who have been trained in traditional, Western medicine and scientific methodology, and the answer will be quite different. Acupuncture, they say, is as interesting phenomenon, but the question of how it works is less important than the question does it work, and their answer to that is no. There is no conclusive evidence that acupuncture for asthma works, and a review of the scientific studies that have attempted to answer this question have not proven acupuncture to be a viable technique for treating asthma. If there are reports that it works, these can be explained by the placebo effect (The placebo effect states that medications or medical techniques/ procedures may be perceived by the patient as effective because they believe they are effective, but there is no measurable effect).

So can acupuncture truly help someone who suffers from asthma? That seems to depend on your point of view. If you feel that illness is caused by disruption in energy flow and you are convinced by anecdotal reports, the only reasonable answer is: try it and find out. Acupuncture for asthma is very safe; serious adverse effects are very rare. But if you are the type of person who needs proof in the traditional sense, it may make more sense to stick with the medications/therapies you are taking and wait for solid evidence that acupuncture can help treat your asthma.

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The Alternative Medicine From The Orient

For Mrs. Cooper, life in sunny California in her modest home has become a tug-of-war of aches and pains for this housewife of forty. A mother of five and at the same time managing a home business, she found it very challenging to keep a home and manage a business at the same time while suffering from lower back pains and migraine headaches.  She tried using the traditional medicines prescribed by her doctor but it seems that these only provided temporary relief. One day, her cousin Meredith recommended that she try other alternative medicines to cure her ailments.

At first, Mrs. Cooper was skeptical since she knew that Meredith was into new age stuff like meditation, yoga, organics, herbal medicines, and vegetarianism.  She felt she was entering into new, unfamiliar territory. But upon her cousin's insistence, she tried this ancient Chinese practice called acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a procedure that treats illness through the insertion of needles at specific points in the body. This process is said to alter the body's energy flow into healthier patterns and used to treat a variety of illnesses and heath conditions. According to the World Health Organization (who) acupuncture is an effective treatment for “over forty” medical problems such as chronic pain, headaches and those associated with problems like back injuries and arthritis. But it is limited in treating conditions like broken bones or that requires surgery.

IS ACUPUNCTURE SAFE?

Just make sure you’re getting this treatment from a well-trained acupuncturist and that the acupuncture needles are sterile and disposable. Undergoing this kind of treatment is like receiving an injection. You only feel pain from injections if it is larger diameter and it is a hollow needle. While acupuncture needles are very fine and about the diameter of human hair. When properly inserted by a skilled practitioner, you won't feel pain. However, you may experience a sense of electricity in the area of insertion. This kind of treatment for most patients find it relaxing and more often they fall asleep during treatment.

THE BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF CHINESE MEDICINE

Alternative Chinese medicine like acupuncture views the body as tiny part of the universe, and subject to universal laws of harmony and balance. The Chinese believe that emotions and mental states play a role in causing diseases.  Illnesses are also affected by other factors like the environment, lifestyle, and relationships. Acupuncture is based on the Taoist philosophy of yin and yang and the chi. The chi, or cosmic energy, is an invisible force found in the air, water, food and sunlight. In the body, it is a vital force that creates and animates life.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN VISITING ACUPUNCTURIST

Like a Western medical practitioner, the first thing an acupuncturist will do is to get the patient's medical history and symptoms. This will be followed by a physical examination. He or she will be looking closely at the patient's tongue, pulse, complexion, general behavior, and other signs like coughs or pains. From this, the acupuncturist will be able to determine patterns of symptoms indicating which organs are imbalanced. Acupuncture needles are always sterilized and it is a safe procedure.

In most cases, acupuncture does work ad relieves pain by helping stimulate the release endorphins into the bloodstream.

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Alternative Pain Relief Method

The ancient Chinese alternative healing method called Acupuncture  is now a popular and widely accepted alternative pain relief method in the United States. An estimated 15 million Americans have tried this “unconventional” therapy. It is offered in many chronic pain clinics and is covered by some insurers and managed health organizations.The Chinese therapy of acupuncture has been used for millions of years to treat a range of ailments. Now it looks like Western medicine is getting the point. The intent of acupuncture therapy is to promote health and alleviate pain and suffering. The method by which this is accomplished, though it may seem strange and mysterious to many, has been tested over thousands of years and continues to be validated today.

The perspective from which an acupuncturist views health and sickness hinges on concepts of “vital energy,” “energy balance” and “energy imbalance.” Just as the Western medical doctor monitors the blood flowing through blood vessels and the messages traveling via the nervous system, the acupuncturist assesses the flow and distribution of this “vital energy” within its pathways, known as “meridians and channels.”

The World Health Organization recommends acupuncture as an alternative pain relief for more than 40 conditions as diverse as asthma and chronic pain. The Food and Drug Administration regulates acupuncture needles as medical devices, the same as it does surgical tools. And in 1997, a National Institutes of Health panel found acupuncture to be an acceptable treatment for many pain conditions, including fibromyalgia and general musculoskeletal pain. 

Modern studies have revealed that acupuncture stimulates one or more of the signaling systems, which under certain circumstances, can increase the rate of healing response. This may be sufficient to cure a disease, or it might only reduce its impact (alleviate some symptoms). These findings can explain most of the clinical effects of acupuncture therapy.

It is also no surprise that some rheumatologists recommend acupuncture to be used alongside more conventional treatments. There are a few patients who even perform the acupuncture treatments on themselves.

When performed by a properly trained and licensed practitioner, acupuncture is safe and effective, free from adverse or addictive side effects. Quite often, a sense of relaxation and well-being occurs during and after treatments. While undergoing therapy for one ailment, other problems may resolve concurrently. This is a common side benefit that again demonstrates the value of balancing the quality and quantity of “vital energy” within the entire person.

Licensed acupuncturists know the human anatomy well, and insert needles in a safe fashion. The instruments used to penetrate the skin are either pre-sterilized and disposable after a single use, or disinfected and sterilized in an autoclave, as surgical and dental instruments are, after each use.

Although most evidence supporting acupuncture can be dismissed as anecdotal, trials have been done where acupuncture does show a pain relieving effect above placebo. The effect is not large, of the same magnitude as taking Aspirin or Ibuprofen, but nonetheless it's there and cannot be ignored.

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