ACUPUNCTURE FOR PAIN RELIEF
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR NATURAL PAIN RELIEF? HAVE YOU TRIED EVERYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO PAIN MANAGEMENT? CURIOUS ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE AS A NATURAL PAIN TREATMENT?
Acupuncture is widely recognised for its ability to relieve pain, making it a popular choice for those seeking natural and effective solutions. As an alternative to pharmaceutical pain relief, acupuncture offers a safe*, time-tested approach that has been used successfully for centuries.
At Vessel, we often combine acupuncture with complementary therapies such as gua sha, cupping, or moxibustion to enhance pain relief. These treatments reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and stimulate the body’s natural pain-relieving chemicals.
We are here to help you rediscover vitality and ease with evidence-based healthcare guided by the timeless wisdom of traditional medicine.
Acupuncture stimulates the body’s pain-relieving and healing pathways, providing quick and lasting relief from pain without side effects.
How does acupuncture work for pain?
In the last 60 years, research has offered valuable insights into how acupuncture alleviates pain.
While there is still much to learn about both acupuncture and the human body, studies have identified the neural pathways connecting acupuncture points to the spinal cord and the brain’s pain centres. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to activate the body's natural opioids and increase the brain’s sensitivity to them, thereby enhancing pain relief.
In addition, acupuncture influences the release and regulation of several key biochemicals involved in pain reduction, including ATP, adenosine, GABA, and substance P.
What does the science say?
Extensive research has examined acupuncture’s effectiveness for various painful conditions:
Acute pain: A systematic review of 13 trials found that acupuncture was more effective than both sham needling and painkiller injections (1).
Chronic pain: The largest study of its kind involved 454,920 patients treated with acupuncture for headaches, low back pain, and osteoarthritis. In this open pragmatic trial, the 8,727 treating physicians rated 76% of cases as having marked or moderate improvement (2).
Musculoskeletal pain: A 2016 retrospective survey of over 89,000 patients found that 93% reported successful treatment from their acupuncturist (3).
Long-term pain relief: A meta-analysis of 17,922 patients from randomized trials concluded, “Acupuncture is effective for treating chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo” (4). A follow-up study found that acupuncture’s pain-relieving effects lasted for at least 12 months after treatment ended (5).
Chronic pain conditions: A review published in Current Opinion in Anesthesiology concluded that “mounting evidence supports the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat chronic low back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain, as well as headaches” (6).
*Acupuncture is one of the safest treatment methods available when performed by a qualified practitioner. In Australia, this means an AHPRA Registered Acupuncturist (7).
REFERENCES
1. Xiang, A., Cheng, K., Xu, P., & Liu, S. (n.d.). The immediate analgesic effect of acupuncture for pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2. Weidenhammer W, Streng A, Linde K, Hoppe A, Melchart D. Acupuncture for chronic pain within the research program of 10 German Health Insurance Funds–basic results from an observational study. Complementary therapies in medicine. 2007;15(4):238-46.
3. American Specialty Health Incorporated Health Services Department. (2016). Acupuncture: Does Acupuncture Provided Within a Managed Care Setting Meet Patient Expectations and Quality Outcomes?, 1–12.
4. Vickers, A. J., Cronin, A. M., Maschino, A. C., Lewith, G., MacPherson, H., Foster, N. E., et al. (2012). Acupuncture for Chronic Pain. Archives of Internal Medicine, 172(19), 1444. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3654
5. MacPherson, H., Vertosick, E. A., Foster, N. E., Lewith, G., Linde, K., Sherman, K. J., et al. (2016). The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment. Pain, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000747
6. Yin, C., Buchheit, T. E., & Park, J. J. (2017). Acupuncture for chronic pain: an update and critical overview. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology, 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACO.0000000000000501