Research Advances on Acupuncture Analgesia.
Author: Qiao L1,2, Guo M1,2, Qian J2, Xu B3, Gu C2, Yang Y2,3
Affiliation:
1The Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210001, P. R. China.
2School of Medicine & Holistic Integrative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China.
3Key Laboratory for Combination of Acupuncture and Chinese Materia, Medica of Chinese Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China.
Conference/Journal: Am J Chin Med.
Date published: 2020 Mar 5
Other:
Volume ID: 1-14 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1142/S0192415X20500135. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 205
Pain is a widespread and complex symptom which causes serious emotional and social burdens to individuals and society. Most patients with pain rely heavily on over the counter (OTC) and prescription pain killers. However, there would be a number of issues that arise from the use of pain killers, in which safety and addiction are the most critical issues. For traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), pain is a result of the meridians being blocked. This could occur as a symptom of or be caused by various diseases. In this case, the key to relieve pain depends on dredging the meridian or meridians. Acupuncture has been practiced in China for over 2000 years to lessen pain. It is based on the "meridian theory". Acupuncture is being used more widely and with a growing number of people in the treatment of pain because it is safer and has fewer side effects. Along with growing use and interest in acupuncture to treat pain, more attention has been paid to the mechanism underlying its analgesic effect, which is mainly associated with the changes of neurotransmitters. In this review, we summarize and analyze the range and mechanism of acupuncture analgesia treatment.
KEYWORDS: Acupuncture; Analgesia; Mechanism; Moxibustion; Neurotransmitters; Review
PMID: 32138535 DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X20500135
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