Contemporary Medical Acupuncture

Though many questions still remain for study about contemporary medical acupuncture, says the Journal of the American Medical Association, “the evidence now available, however, is sufficient to place this age-old Chinese healing art, modernized to US standards, on a solid scientific base.”

The Journal concludes a feature on the subject saying that in the hands of competent physicians, acupuncture is a method free from discomfort or side effects that can, in many cases, bring some relief from the suffering of chronic pain. When patients ask about contemporary medical acupuncture, the answer can now be, with good justification.

It may well be worth a try. Acupuncture needles may stimulate the brain’s own painkillers—endorphins and enkephalins—when relieving pain, according to Britain’s medical journal. Doctors at London’s St. Bartholomew’s Hospital said that there was a significant rise of endorphin levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients relieved of pain by contemporary medical acupuncture when compared to volunteers who received no treatment.

This is apparently the first time human endorphin levels in CSF have been linked to contemporary medical acupuncture.

The key question about contemporary medical acupuncture is this: How does it work? Is it really ‘scientific,’ or is it a case of ‘mind over matter’? Could it even be associated with spiritism? As yet no one really knows how contemporary medical acupuncture works.

Even its most ardent supporters admit that they do not know the precise scientific explanation. Because of this, some have suggested that contemporary medical acupuncture is related to hypnosis.

An American orthopedist compared contemporary medical acupuncture to drinking from the water of Lourdes, or having Oral Roberts touch people who then scream “I’m cured.” Others suggest that the Chinese have been brainwashed by Mao Tse-tung’s thoughts.

Many, however, disagree. Doctors note that the Chinese have produced general anesthesia in animals by using contemporary medical acupuncture.

Another doctor from New York said that a psychological factor is involved in any medical treatment. That’s why there are clinical trials with placebos. Since contemporary medical acupuncture has been successfully used, particularly in China, in pediatrics and in veterinary medicine, the psychological factor, if any, is only a small part of the effect, as in any other therapy.

For this reason, the launching of the medical acupuncture training had been learned and accepted worldwide by medical practitioners. With no doubt, acupuncture as an alternative to medical approaches is now considered as a modern breakthrough to curing health issues worldwide.