Acupuncture helps Fibromyalgia Pain

Acupuncture helps fibromyalgia pain. American researchers report that electro-acupuncture helps fibromyalgia pain, by altering the way the brain’s amygdala connects with its representation of the body. A total of 76 fibromyalgia patients were randomised to receive either electro-acupuncture or mock laser acupuncture, twice a week for a total of eight treatments. Functional brain network connectivity was assessed using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, before and after treatment.

The electro-acupuncture group experienced a greater reduction in pain severity compared with the control group, and increased levels of an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the anterior insula, a small region of the cerebral cortex responsible for sensory processing. The researchers conclude that acupuncture can modulate functional connectivity and inhibitory neurochemistry, leading to reduced pain severity.

(Greater Somatosensory Afference With Acupuncture Increases Primary Somatosensory Connectivity and Alleviates Fibromyalgia Pain via Insular Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid: A Randomized Neuroimaging Trial. Arthritis & Rheumatology, July 2021.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.