Acupuncture and wrist pain in focus
Acupuncture can relieve wrist pain from Carpel tunnel Syndrome, and studies have tracked nervous system changes that may explain why.
Scientists randomized 80 people with mild or moderate carpal tunnel syndrome to one of three groups.
The first received acupuncture at the wrist and ankle.
The second got acupuncture at the wrist alone.
Additionally, the third received sham acupuncture with fake needles near the affected wrist as a placebo.
Using functional M.R.I. and nerve conduction tests before and after the procedures, they measured effects on brain and nerves.
All three groups found relief from pain, but both of the true acupuncture groups showed measurable physiological improvements in pain centers in the brain and nerves, while sham acupuncture did not produce such changes. Improvement in brain measures predicted greater pain relief three months after the tests, a long-term effect that placebo did not provide. The study is in Brain.
“What’s really interesting here is that we’re evaluating acupuncture using objective outcomes,” said the senior author, Vitaly Napadow, a researcher at Harvard. Sham acupuncture was good at relieving pain temporarily, he said, but true acupuncture had objective physiological — and enduring — effects.
“Acupuncture is a safe, low-risk, low side-effect intervention,” he continued. “It’s perfect for a first-line approach, and it’s something patients should consider before trying more invasive procedures like surgery.
