Chances are you’re already aware of some ways that acupuncture is awesome, but here’s even more reasons it should considered be part of your health care routine. Did you know acupuncture can help with:
Improved Respiratory Health
Yes! Respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis can be helped as acupuncture can help regulate the system, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy lung function. A review of multiple studies published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (1) found that acupuncture can significantly improve symptoms of asthma and reduce the need for medication.
Relief from Menopausal Symptoms
Those dreaded hot flashes, mood swings, and the insomnia that comes along with menopause is enough to make you tear your hair out. But you might just find some relief with acupuncture! One study published in the journal Menopause found that acupuncture can significantly reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes in menopausal women (2).
Improved Immune Function
Acupuncture may well be an effective treatment for immune-related conditions such as autoimmune diseases and chronic infections. Check out this one meta-analysis (3), published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, that found that acupuncture may improve immune function in patients with autoimmune diseases.
Support for Cancer Treatment
Undergoing treatments for a cancer can be draining on every level, and it’s good to know that acupuncture can be a useful complementary therapy to help with the array of side effects that may present (such as nausea, fatigue, and pain). It’s not guaranteed (what in life is?) but well worth a shot, as recognised in this review of multiple studies published in the journal Current Oncology (4).
Improved Athletic Performance
Recovery from injuries by increasing blood flow to muscles through acupuncture can help reduce pain and inflammation, and improve overall athletic performance. Better recovery times and reduced muscle soreness sounds like a winner to us (5)!
It’s always been a challenge to find high quality trials for the efficacy of CM and acupuncture in Western society, as it is such a different modality and no one issue in acupuncture is generally treated the same from practitioner to practitioner. However, even within these confines, there are multiple studies that show it could well be useful in a number of conditions. Yay for acupuncture!
Wondering if it might help you? Reach out!
Sources:
1. McDonald, J. L., & Smith, P. K. (2013). Acupuncture for allergic disease therapy. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine, 2013, 1-15. doi: 10.1155/2013/591796
2. Avis, N. E., Coeytaux, R. R., Isom, S., & Prevette, K. (2016). Acupuncture in Menopause (AIM) study: a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial. Menopause, 23(6), 626-637. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000580
3. Yu, X., Xu, B., Yang, R., Guo, X., & Liu, Z. (2019). Effects of acupuncture on immune function of patients with autoimmune diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acupuncture in Medicine, 37(6), 354-362. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2018-011712
4. Ezzo, J., Streitberger, K., Schneider, A., Cochrane, S., & Ernst, E. (2006). Acupuncture for nausea and vomiting: an update of clinical and experimental studies. Current Oncology, 13(2), 62-75. doi: 10.3747/co.2006.110
5. Zhang, Q., Yue, J., Golianu, B., Sun, Z., Lu, Y., & Li, Q. (2014). Acupuncture treatment for improving athletic performance and recovery in athletes: a systematic review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 20(9), 771-781. doi: 10.1089/acm.2014.0049