Acupuncture has been seen as one of the most effective treatments for cancer-related pain. With the use of this 5000 year-old healing art of traditional Chinese medicine, one can experience relief from neuropathy, postoperative constipation, postsurgical vomiting and nausea, and postsurgical cancer pain.
Acupuncture can also treat other types of pain that usually comes with cancer treatment including TMJS (temporomandibular joint syndrome), headaches, sciatica, hip pain, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain. As with other symptoms of cancer, acupuncture can be suggested as an adjunct medical therapy for other cancer treatments. Having said that, acupuncture is a good way to cope with cancer pain as well as for the alleviation of other side effects including changes in libido, sleeping difficulties, depression, anxiety, appetite changes, weakened immune function, and fatigue.
Science has a long way to go to truly understand how things work, and this is especially true when it comes to understanding ancient medicines. Conventional archeology has traced the origin of humans to around 200,000 years ago and during this time many medicines have likely come and gone. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture have been developed long ago and they are grounded more on clinical evidence than on science. This means that for over several hundred years of practice ancient Chinese physicians through trial and error found out the correct combinations of acupuncture points to be treated to help heal conditions. And from this trial and error system, a type of diagnosis known as TCM diagnosis emerged. The theories of TCM are quite complicated and entail a significant deal of learning. They basically include the Five Element Theory, Meridian Theory, and the Yin/Yang Theory.
Pain, according to TCM, is deemed to be due to a blockage in energy channels known as meridians. For the most part, these channels are where energy Body Fluids, Blood and energy (Qi) flow. Patterns of blockage are initially termed Painful Obstruction Syndromes. Then they are categorized based on the type of blockage seen and by the part of the body in where they are located. An abundance of heat is usually present in the body when a person has cancer. The two aims of TCM and acupuncture treatment are to restore the normal flow of energy by removing the blockages and to nourish the affected organ systems. Before the treatment proper, TCM practitioners/acupuncturists have to determine the organ systems that are affected. The patient will be asked a series of questions and then his pulse taken to come up with a diagnosis.
What changes occur in the body when an acupuncture needle or needles are poked into the skin? When inserted at the proper points, the needles produce a neurological response that sets into motion certain biophysical processes. Neural imaging studies have revealed that acupuncture tend to relax certain regions of the brain governing the reception of pain. These images also show acupuncture’s ability to boost blood flow and lessen inflammation. A lot of meridians in the body are related to arteries and neural pathways. Certain important acupoints such as the ones found in your hand are located in a region where blood vessels and nerves travel.
The number of acupuncture skeptics is slowly dwindling as more and more evidence pile up in favor of acupuncture. This ancient healing art can help a person in so many ways and hopefully it won’t take another 5,000 years for it to be regarded as a very helpful modality for so many conditions.
Bhakti Acupuncture
7550 France Ave S #220
Edina, MN 55435
Phone: (952) 230-1394
bhaktiacupuncture.com