Mechanisms Behind Acupuncture for Relief of Back Pain

Acupuncture benefits post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers lead by Harvard Medical School in the US, have been studying the mechanisms behind acupuncture’s ability to relieve pain. A total of 79 patients aged 18 to 60, with chronic lower back pain were randomly assigned to four weeks of either real or sham acupuncture. Six treatments were given in total per patient. Resting state functional MRI scans were performed prior to the first treatment and after the last treatment.

Fifty patients completed the study. Reductions in the extent to which patients were troubled by their pain, were observed in both treatment groups, with significantly greater pain relief occurring in the real acupuncture group. Real acupuncture was found though to increase connectivity between the periaqueductal gray and ventral tegmental areas of the brain, with the amygdala.

The authors conclude that acupuncture may simultaneously modulate connectivity between key brain regions, linked via the amygdala, to block pain signals. The amygdala is not only involved in pain signal processing, but it also plays a role in negative emotion management. The authors also point out that the pain relief observed is consistent with findings from systematic reviews testing the efficacy of acupuncture for chronic lower back pain. These reviews found that although differences between real and sham acupuncture are relatively modest, acupuncture is superior to both a non-acupuncture control and sham acupuncture for the treatment of chronic pain.

(Acupuncture Treatment Modulates the Connectivity of Key Regions of the Descending Pain Modulation and Reward Systems in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 3 June 2020.)

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.