For the acupuncturist it's no surprise when a new study proves the effectiveness of this ancient technique; however, one more study under the AOM belt benefits the profession as a whole. For instance, new research, published by MedPage Today, reports chest pain improves with acupuncture.
The study, "Angina Episodes Decrease With Acupuncture: Chest pain frequency significantly reduced in patients with stable angina; improvement in depression and anxiety too" was conducted at five centers across China in 398 adult patients with chronic stable angina, who averaged 13.3 chest pain episodes over a 4-week baseline period, randomized in equal numbers to the four treatment arms.
To be included in the study patients had to have angina for more than 3 months, with attacks occurring at least twice weekly, and no significant change in the frequency, extent, nature, and inducing and alleviation factors of angina attacks at baseline.
Exclusion criteria included previous MI, severe heart failure, valvular heart disease, atrial fibrillation, poorly controlled blood pressure or blood glucose, severe arrhythmias, and more.
Dr. Susan Arnold, MD, of Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri told MedPage Today, "Angina is a complicated symptom that can be impacted by many things other than just pure myocardial ischemia. For example, both depression and anxiety have been shown to be associated with increased anginal burden independent of the degree of ischemia. As such, it isn't completely crazy to think that some treatment, that is not directly associated with increased myocardial blood flow, might be associated with less angina."
For more information about this research, or to view the complete study please click here.
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The luo vessels are important in the treatment of mental health issues. They are conduits of “ying qi”: blood and fluids. We believe that the shen is “housed” in the heart and circulated through the blood, making a channel system that “conducts” ying qi ideal for treatment of the mind and emotions.
As our health care ecosystem continues to evolve, I’ve found an increased emphasis being placed on an integrative approach to patient care. As an acupuncturist, you are an essential part of this collaborative system and health care team, cooperating with a range of other professionals including medical doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, and others.
