Needles and pins: how does acupuncture work

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Q. What theories are there

A. In 1965 a theory called the 'Gate Theory of Pain' was produced. This was the first serious attempt to unify the many ideas that existed about the mechanism that perceives and transmits pain through the nervous system. The theory states that pain signals must pass through a number of high-traffic 'gates' as they travel from the area of injury upward through the spinal cord into the brain.

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Like a road system, these nerves can handle only a limited number of nerve signals at any one time and the 'gates' create bottlenecks. The pain signals travel very slowly, and we can generate other signals�that move faster, so the faster signals crowd out the slower ones, because of the limited capacity of the nerves. Acupuncture generates competing stimuli and effectively block the slow pain signals from reaching the brain.

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Q. How long does the effect last

A. The effects of acupuncture can last for some months after the acupuncture needle has been removed, and nothing in the Gate Theory really explains this.

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Q. What other theories are there

A. Another widely held hypothesis is that acupuncture represents a type of counter-pain. If pain is created in one part of the body then pain experienced in another part of the body is not noticed. This is a valid experimental model for short-term relief of relatively mild pain, but again it does not explain the long-lasting effects of acupuncture in some types of severe pain.

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The 'Electrical Theory' propounds that the body continually generates tiny, but detectable electrical discharges. This electrical field influences the growth, maturation and functioning of some types of cells. It is known that acupuncture points are concentrated in regions of low electrical resistance, so the theory suggests that acupuncture works by influencing these electromagnetic fields. Acupuncture points have certain electrical properties, and stimulating these points alters the body's chemical neurotransmitters.

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Q. So, no definitive answer then

A. The fact of the matter is that acupuncture does work, and has been shown to do so in many tests, but the exact answer as to how it works remains unclear. The current scientific explanations give logical and supportable bases for stating that it has an effect on the nervous system, but it is not yet scientifically possible to draw any more definite conclusions.

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To find out how other�alternative medicines are supposed to work click here

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By Simon Smith