A. Normal brain when pain stimulated         B. Patients with low back pain     C. Patients after acupuncture treatment

There was a very interesting editorial in the Acupuncture In Medicine journal discussing the de Qi sensation (pronounced De Chee) in Traditional Chinese Medicine and MRI brain scanning changes. Namely, that a course of acupuncture producing the needling stimulation sensation (De Qi) for chronic low back pain was shown to have a desensitising effect on the emotional centres of the brain involved in pain AND an activating effect on the sensorimotor areas associated with muscle responses to acupuncture. A desensitising effect on one area of the brain relating to pain and emotion AND an activating effect on another part relating to muscle response and movement. 

My blog in this series on acupuncture reported how acupuncture stimulates opiod based pain relief. This latest functional MRI scanning shows how 'pain processing' changes occur within the brain as a result of acupuncture. Image A shows active areas of the brain in normals when pain is stimulated. 
Image B shows the scattered brain activation in people with low back pain. 
Image C shows the brain activation patterns in low back patients after successful acupuncture treatment - notice how close to normal they are again and how different to before treatment. 

So pain can be changed via what is known as a 'pain matrix' in the brain. The images  are fascinating because they show how the brain's pain activity becomes more localised and more normal in the brain as pain becomes better regulated . Photographic proof that acupuncture changes your brain activity patterns for the better!

Ref: Acupuncture In Medicine, June 2013, 31(2):129-131

Myofascial Trigger Points, or simply 'trigger points' as they're also known, are tight bands of over-active and over-sensitive muscle fibres. 

Anyone can develop trigger points - due to  poor or sustained postures, or over-using muscle for example through stress and tension or even fitness training. 

The existence of trigger points in muscles is now widely recognised in scientific studies. There are several theories to explain how trigger points cause pain, mostly due to a local 'metabolic crisis' within the muscle. Many people can have latent (painfree) trigger points but if they become active trigger points people experience recurrent or persistent pain.

Massage, heat, ice, and foam rollers can all help but nothing gives a higher stimulus treatment than inserting a fine needle directly into the overactive fibres. What follows is a muscle twitch and deep aching pain followed by reflex relaxation of the trigger point and relief of pain. Simple advice and specific stretches can then keep the problem at bay.

I've seen clients struggle with trigger point pain for months and then get one or two sessions of acupuncture and get rid of them. You don't have to live with the pain.

A very quick and effective treatment - it really hits the spot!

Acupuncture has been around for 1000's of years. The Chinese have different explanations for how it works but what does science tell us. Inserting fine needles into your body stimulates a response from your brain. Your brain is able to release its own powerful 'opiod' painkillers.

Acupuncture needling stimulates what we scientists calldescending pain control through stimulation of the limbic system - the part of your brain considered to be the emotional centre - and another area called the VPAG which release natural opiods into your bloodstream. 

Research shows that there is a cumulative effect to acupuncture - the more sessions you have the more opiod effects build up.

Less pain and more feel-good!