Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old healing technique that has gained traction in modern medicine. It is used to manage pain, reduce stress, and release emotions. While the age of a practice does not necessarily indicate effectiveness, acupuncture has been used in combination with modern medicine to better treat the whole self.
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a treatment that involves inserting tiny needles into the skin in different areas of the body, called acupuncture points. Each needle stimulates specific areas and optimizes healing and well-being.
“Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. “This, in turn, releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These biochemical changes may stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.”
How can acupuncture help with emotions?
Mental health is tied to physical health so much that when one aspect of health suffers, it affects other aspects.
“Your mental health plays a huge role in your general well-being,” according to WebMD. “Being in a good mental state can keep you healthy and help prevent serious health conditions. A study found that positive psychological well-being can reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes.”
In particular, people who suffer from chronic pain may develop a mental health disorder and, perhaps surprisingly, a mental health disorder can lead to chronic pain, according to the Symposium on Pain Medicine published by the Mayo Clinic. Research suggests this relationship is because of shared neural mechanisms, such as neurons, neural circuits, and regions of the brain.
The most effective treatment is to treat both the pain and the psychological condition, according to research published in Frontiers in Neuroscience journal. That’s where acupuncture comes in.
“In chronic pain conditions (headache, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic neck and shoulder pain, low back pain, and cancer pain), acupuncture may improve pain and psychological disorders,” according to the study. “Acupuncture may mediate its anti-pain, anti-anxiety, anti-depression, and other therapeutic effects via regulating brain regions and their related substances.”
Acupuncture can do more than help those with chronic pain. For example, a study found that students who underwent a 20-minute acupuncture session were less anxious and had better recall than students who did not undergo acupuncture, according to the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies.
How can acupuncture relieve stress?
Because physical and emotional health are connected, acupuncture therapy can help people deal with anxiety or stress that turns into physical symptoms.
“From a physiological perspective, the stimulation of acupoints promotes the release of ‘happy hormones,’ like endorphins and other natural chemicals that signal to the body that it is safe, secure, and can relax and turn off its stress response,” acupuncturist Ali Vander Baan said in a Healthline article.
These happy hormones also include serotonin and epinephrine, according to the article. Acupuncture will also help decrease cortisol, commonly called a stress hormone.
“When your body is on high alert, cortisol can alter or shut down functions that get in the way,” according to WebMD. “These might include your digestive or reproductive systems, your immune system, or even your growth processes.”
Once cortisol has served its purpose, its levels should naturally go down. However, constant stress means “it can derail your body’s most important functions,” according to WebMD.
Used in conjunction with modern medicine, acupuncture is a valuable health tool. Find a certified acupuncture practitioner online, by asking for recommendations, or by asking your doctor for a referral.