Patients going to extremes to get stuck
July 1, 1999
Patients going to extremes to get stuck
Acupuncture used to treat a variety of conditions
At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, patients often seek acupuncture treatments for the side effects of chemotherapy such as nausea, fatigue, insomnia, or loss of appetite. The cancer center uses acupuncture as an adjunct to improve a patient’s general health.
Acupuncture doesn’t replace cancer treatments; it helps patients go through certain therapies, explains Joseph S. Chiang, MD, MS, associate professor in anesthesiology at the University and a trained acupuncturist.
There is a long list of conditions that acu punc ture has been used for, however. Generally, it is useful for chronic problems such as low back pain. Also, it is more useful for functional problems than structural problems, says Mark Fields, LAC, a licensed acupuncturist with Accredited Acupuncture Clinic in Sacramento, CA.
While there are few Western-style scientific studies on acupuncture, it is a medical treatment that has been used by the Chinese and many other Asian countries for more than 5,000 years. If it didn’t work, it wouldn’t have lasted thousands of years, states Chiang.
According to Chinese theory, acupuncture is used to manipulate "chi." While there is no equivalent word in Western medicine, the best description of chi is a vital energy. Yet, it is more than this simple explanation. The Chinese think of chi as the source of life. It runs through the body along meridians or channels.
Restoring the free flow of chi
When a person is sick, he or she has too much chi, not enough chi, or chi that is not running smoothly along these channels. Acupuncture needles are inserted along the meridians at certain points to break up obstructions, drain energy in a meridian, and restore the body back to balance so the chi can flow freely again. The needles are placed in certain spots and manipulated a certain way to achieve this balance.
"An acupuncturist selectively stimulates or irritates points along nerve tracks. It is not acu puncture itself, but the body’s response to that stimulation, which normalizes body processes," explains Fields.
While there are no side effects from acupuncture, there can be risks for certain patients. Therefore, patients with a medical problem should be encouraged to consult their physicians first to make sure the procedure won’t have added risk.
For example, cancer patients with a very low white blood cell count are at risk for infection. Whenever needles are inserted in the skin, there is the chance that an infection can occur.
When an acupuncturist combines the needle work with herbal medicine, patients in treatment for such diseases as cancer or diabetes must be cautious — especially if taking medications. "Most herbal medicines are safe, and if you are healthy it won’t do any harm," says Chiang. (For more information on herbal therapies, see Patient Education Management, March 1999, pp. 27-30.)
The first issue patients considering acupuncture should address is whether or not their condition can be treated by acupuncture. The best way to find out is to go to the acupuncturist, explain your condition, and be evaluated, says Fields. Acupuncture is not a one-size-fits-all treatment, he says. For example, not all patients with arthritis are treated the same.
Only by asking questions, examining patients, and using general observation skills will the acupuncturist get a logical symptom picture and diagnosis from which the right point prescription is determined.
Brain chemistry affects efficacy
Some patients may need eight or more treatments to begin seeing results; others may need fewer than that. About 10% of the population responds very well to acupuncture, and another 10% won’t respond at all. "The difference usually has to do with brain chemistry. With some people, their nervous system works a little differently and they have a different balance of nerve transmitters," says Fields.
Patients go through different treatment stages. The first stage is usually more intensive, such as 10 treatments in a three- or four-week period of time. At the end of the first stage, the patient is evaluated; if most of the problem is gone, the patient will return for maintenance treatments.
"Acupuncture is not a gimmick — it really works on a lot of conditions — but it is not magic either. On the conditions that Western medicine can’t help, people shouldn’t expect to have two treatments and be trouble-free from that point on. It probably will not happen," says Chiang.
For best results, it is important that a patient select a well-trained acupuncturist. However, acupuncture is regulated on a state-by-state basis, and the standards can vary. Patients should not make a hasty selection. First, make sure the acupuncturist can legally practice in your state. Then ask what kind of acupuncture training they have had, says Chiang.
Contact the state medical board for a list of practitioners and cross-check that with members of professional acupuncture associations, recommends Fields. A personal referral from a friend or colleague who has had good results with an acupuncturist is also a good way to find a reputable practitioner.
"Ask the acupuncturist their experience with a particular condition and what results they have had. Also, ask about the use of disposable needles," says Fields.
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