There’s been a lot of negative talk on chiropractors and how they don’t really help, science wise. What about acupuncture?
In: Biology
Acupuncture? Not a science. But…
It works. Not for curing every ailment under the sun, as is traditionally claimed, and not via qi or mystical energy channels in the body, but for a few very specific issues.
And so it’s been incorporated into actual medical treatments under the name “dry needling”. And, having had quite a few treatments, omg is it amazing. Especially electric dry needling.
Now… How it works is not exactly known. Near as they can tell, a needle inserted into muscle can somehow tickle some muscle fibers, and induce the release of endogenous opiates (aka endorphins), which our our body’s painkillers, which can provide some amazing non-pharmaceutical pain relief. Unfortunately it’s probably also addictive and effectiveness can reduce with overuse, but it’s not anywhere near as much as taking some morphine.
It can also work wonders for relaxing a muscle spasm, especially with the introduction of current. The electricity, applied directly to the muscle, does the same thing that doing it transdermally would, causes controlled contractions on the spasming muscle, kind of “resetting” it. The advantage of a needle is that it can hit deeper muscles than a sticky pad, and be very targeted.
If you have chronic pain, I can’t recommend giving dry needling a try enough. It won’t cure anything, but it can definitely offer some temporary relief without the same risks as potent painkillers.
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