Treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Acupuncture Is Very Effective

A recent study published in Archives of Internal Medicine is concluding what many practitioners of acupuncture already believe is possible and even have experience with — treating common respiratory problems is one of the easy successes of acupuncture.

However, with more complex syndromes such as this, one will find a normalizing effect. Acupuncture is able to promote homeostasis in one’s body — reversing the dramatic problems of many syndromes. Stimulating ‘Vital Force’ (‘Primordial Qi’) through the meridians of one’s body, acupuncture brings improved circulation, normalizes blood and oxygen flow into the lungs, and creates healthy rhythms in the pericardium. Acupuncture helps to clear out stagnation, opening up the free flow of energy, oxygen. Acupuncture improves the circulation and, thus, the function of all the major internal organs.

The Recent Study

According to For the Media, “The management of dyspnea is an important target in the treatment of COPD, a common respiratory disease characterized by irreversible airflow limitation. COPD is predicted to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020, according to the study background.”

More results of this small study briefly below:

“Masao Suzuki, L.Ac., Ph.D., of Kyoto University and Meiji University of Integrative Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial from July 2006 through March 2009. A total of 68 patients diagnosed with COPD participated, and 34 were assigned to a real acupuncture group for 12 weeks, plus daily medication.

“We demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in DOE [dyspnea on exertion] (Borg scale), nutrition status (including BMI), airflow obstruction, exercise capacity and health-related quality of life after three months of acupuncture treatment,” the authors note.

“This study points to an important potential role for acupuncture in COPD management. These findings demand larger but equally methodologically rigorous confirmatory studies if we are to consider integrating this approach into our management strategy,” they conclude.

“According to a small clinical trial reported by investigators from Japan, acupuncture appears to be associated with improvement of dyspnea (labored breathing) on exertion, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).”

Acupuncture, an Old Medicine, Integrated within a New System Successfully

These studies are important as western healthcare systems rely heavily on pharmaceutical medication and, thus, when treating the condition with acupuncture, one has to sometimes treat the side-effects of the medication. This makes the process a bit more complex than treating a condition alone without medication. To find results such as above, one can be encouraged that, in this case, the system of integrated medicine is working well.

As far as the question of whether or not acupuncture works on many disease and imbalances, it is not so difficult to surmise the answer. This system of health has been around for 5,000 years creating wellness for many. No medicine this old would still be around if it was not a valid and working system of healing, at least in some ways.

Image Credits:

• Vancouver Acupuncture by Megan Mallen
• Taking Care of Business with Acupuncture by iwona_kellie
• Acupuncture Treatment by NYCTCM