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In the Western world there is still a lot of resistance to the practice of acupuncture as a ‘legitimate’ treatment for pain.  Critics say that it only works on a psychological basis, as a sort of placebo; if a patient believes it will work, that expectation is enough to alleviate some symptoms, which were probably psychological in the first place.

A new experiment has indicated that acupuncture really does have the capability to relieve pain, by intercepting and/or modifying the signals that pass between the brain and nerves in the human body.

This comes as a validation to many in the medical/scientific community who have advocated the treatment.  It has also caused some confusion amongst those who are skeptical of this unconventional method of treatment because the reasons for its efficacy are basically unknown.

The new research involved MRI brain scans that measured the activity of certain areas of the brain that have a known connection to the body’s perception of pain.  In basic terms, they are the areas that receive messages from all parts of the body and respond by sending danger, or pain signals which in turn activate the immune system and/or tell you to snatch your hand back from a hot stove-top, for example.

MRI data suggests that certain acupuncture points, when stimulated by needles with or without accompanying electrical charges, actually ‘dampen’ or reduce the strength of the pain signal, thereby reducing the amount of pain perceived by the brain.  Acupuncture also affects the areas that control our expectation and perception of pain, working in this respect as a sort of placebo, for lack of a better word.

Dr. Nina Theysohn, director of the experiment that took place at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, said that the findings support the theory that both specific and ‘non-specific’ mechanisms – essentially those we understand and those we don’t understand – are present, and that acupuncture can address both of them.