Biology Explains Why Acupuncture Really Works
According to Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester in New York, acupuncture has been a medical treatment for 4,000 years in some parts of the world. However, people remain skeptical.
Acupuncture works by stimulating a natural painkiller, called adenosine, in the body that swells arteries and allows more blood to flow through. Because adenosine is released during acupuncture, it is the reason for the method’s reduction of pain. During and after an acupuncture treatment, the adenosine level in tissues near the needles is 24 times greater than before.
Adenosine also helps regulate sleep and keep the heart healthy. It becomes active in the skin after an injury to stimulate nerve signals and relieve pain.
Scientists have experimented with the procedure using mice. While performing acupuncture, they also added a leukemia medication. They found that works almost three times as long if they added a drug to slow down the removal of adenosine.
Scientists have also performed acupuncture on mice that had discomfort in one paw. The hurt mice were given a thirty minute procedure near the knee, which involved very fine needles rotated gently every five minutes, as is done in standard treatments on people. The mice with normal adenosine levels experienced reduced discomfort by two-thirds, while those unable to produce adenosine had no effect.
