Gradually Accepting Acupuncture
A new study by Danish researchers has found that general practitioners and nurses are becoming more understanding when it comes to the alternative therapies pursued by the cancer patients under their care.
This is significant because studies have shown that as many as two-thirds of cancer patients already undertake some form of complementary or alternative therapy.
The Danish study, led by Anette Damkier of the Oncological Research Center at Odense University Hospital in Fredensborg, Denmark, found that 20 percent of general practitioners thought alternative medicine might have a positive effect on the course of their patients' cancer, and 50 percent thought it could have a positive impact on their quality of life.
Among the nurses surveyed, 63 percent felt that alternative medicine could be helpful for their cancer patients, and 20 percent actually used some form of alternative treatment in their practice.
Damkier also surveyed cancer patients and found that a surprising number (13 percent) have taken advantage of one of the most ancient medical treatments of all-acupuncture.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Originating in China more than two centuries ago, it first became widely known in the United States in 1971 when New York Times reporter James Reston wrote about how doctors in Beijing, China used needles to ease his abdominal pain after surgery.
Traditional Chinese medicine theorizes that more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body connect with 12 main and 8 secondary pathways, called meridians. Acupuncture practitioners believe these meridians conduct energy, or qi, between the surface of the body and internal organs.
Qi is influenced by the opposing forces of yin and yang, according to practitioners. When yin and yang are balanced, they work together with the natural flow of qi to help the body achieve and maintain health. Acupuncture is believed to balance yin and yang, keep the normal flow of energy unblocked, and restore health to the body and mind.
Several processes have been proposed by Western researchers to explain acupuncture's effects, primarily those on pain. Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) to release chemicals that influence the body's self-suppressing pain mechanisms.
Western scientists have found evidence that acupuncture points are strategic conductors of electromagnetic signals. By stimulating points along these pathways, acupuncture may enable electromagentic signals to be relayed at a greater rate than under normal conditions. These signals may start the flow of pain-killing biochemicals, such as endorphins, and of immune system cells to specific sites in the body that are injured or vulnerable to disease. Additional research has also found that several types of opioids may be released into the central nervous system during acupuncture treatment, thereby reducing pain.
The Food and Drug Administration only approved acupuncture needles for use by licensed practitioners in 1996 and now requires manufacturers of acupuncture needles to label them for strictly single use. The National Institutes of Health finally published official guidelines for the use of acupuncture in 1997.
Relatively few complications from the use of acupuncture have been reported to the FDA when one considers the millions of people treated each year and the number of acupuncture needles used. Still, complications have resulted from inadequate sterilization of needles and from improper delivery of treatments. When not delivered properly, acupuncture can cause serious adverse effects, including infections and puncturing of organs.
Interestingly, Dr. Edzsard Ernst of the University of Exeter in England, writing in The American Journal of Medicine, analyzed nine studies published since 1956 that dealt with acupuncture pain and adverse reactions from acupuncture treatments.
Ernst found impressively few significant adverse effects from acupuncture treatment reported among the 250,000 patients included in those studies.
In terms of minor side effects, up to 45 percent of the subjects reported some needle pain, and as many as 41 percent reported minor bleeding, he wrote. Forty-one percent reported feeling tired after treatment. However, 86 percent of the patients in the studies said they had a deep sense of relaxation after treatment.
Most surprising of all, he wrote, is the scarcity of studies on the subject. "One would have thought that a treatment that started before the invention of science would have received a lot more attention."
Last year, the British Medical Association (BMA) published a report in the British Medical Journal that concluded: "There is reasonable scientific evidence acupuncture is effective for chronic illnesses where sufferers usually take pain-killers for a long period of time."
The report, entitled "Acupuncture: Efficacy, Safety and Practice," was researched by the BMA's Board of Science and Education. It recommended that acupuncture be integrated into the British National Health Service. It specifically identified its beneficial role in alleviating nausea and vomiting, back and dental pain, and migraine headaches. But it also called for further research into treating other medical conditions that involve chronic pain.
The BMA report adds to the growing body of new research that is praising one of the most ancient of medical practices. After 2,000+ years, it appears that acupuncture has finally arrived-at least in terms of Western medicine.
SOURCES:
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov)
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (http://www.medicalacupuncture.org)
"Acupuncture: Efficacy, Safety and Practice," as reported in the British Medical Journal, June 25, 2000
The American Journal of Medicine, April 15, 2001