Acupuncture Healing Arts News

Acupuncture Can Prevent Radiation-Induced Chronic Dry Mouth

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:47:43 -0800

Acupuncture has shown to reduce the debilitating side effect of xerostomia, according to a study published in the journal, Cancer. Xerostomia, or severe dry mouth, is characterized by reduced salivary flow, which commonly affects patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. The study found that "incorporating acupuncture alongside radiotherapy diminished the incidence and severity of this side effect."

Difficulties Sleeping? Put Insomnia to Rest!

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:37:44 -0800

Our society puts a premium on our waking hours and has the tendency to underestimate the importance of

a full-night’s sleep. Often, good sleep hygiene is an afterthought for many people. Millions of people are besieged with insomnia and look for quick fixes instead of exploring the root causes of the problem.

Acupuncture for Sleep Disorders

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:22:53 -0800

Acupuncture may be the answer for a cheap and effective treatment of sleep disorders. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder affecting about 4% of men and 2% of women.

How acupuncture works-A revealing new study on acupuncture comes from an unlikely source: electrical engineers

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:02:45 -0700

When an acupuncture needle pierces tissue while being manually oscillated, slow-moving acoustic waves are sent into the muscles, triggering calcium flow.

Calcium interacts with white blood cells to produce endorphins that help alleviate symptoms such as pain and nausea.

The effectiveness of acupuncture depends on how accurately the needle hits the acupoints. The acoustic waves generated by acupuncture can travel between six and eight centimeters along the grain of pierced muscle only when the needle is inserted on an acupoint.

If the needle is a centimeter off of the acupoint, it can still be effective, even though the waves generated will travel only three to four centimeters.

The study does not explain why this happens, but it does find that muscles have a memory of the waves and can even recreate the waves themselves.

Read more: How acupuncture works | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/life/hong-kong-and-columbia-professors-prove-acupuncture-works-049700#ixzz1Yi2xFxC5