Acupuncture motivates body’s regulatory system

Acupuncture is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine that can be traced back to at least 2,500 years. It played a pivotal role in preventing and treating diseases.
Image used for representational purpose.
Image used for representational purpose.

Acupuncture is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine that can be traced back to at least 2,500 years. It played a pivotal role in preventing and treating diseases. At present, acupuncture has seen a certain degree of application in the world. As a nonspecific physical stimulation, acupuncture, unlike drugs, restores normal functions by motivating or inducing the inherent regulatory system in the body, not directly acting on the pathogen. Thus, the effects of acupuncture are not directly produced by acupuncture stimulation, but are mediated by various regulatory systems in the body. This determines that the acupuncture effect regulates the body’s condition and has characteristics of whole regulation, dual directional regulation and more. 

Modern scientific researches have shown that the body’s inherent regulatory system is neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) network, including the nervous system, endocrine system and immune system, which is the biological basis to maintain the body’s homeostasis. At present, some researches show acupuncture has a certain modulatory effect on NEI network. The three systems coordinate with each other, forming an organic network, which is the biological basis to maintain the body’s homeostasis. In pathological conditions, the NEI network gets remodelled and plays the role of self-regulation. The feeling during acupuncture is de qi, a composite sensation of soreness, numbness, heaviness, distension and aching, and a radiating sensation on and around the acupoints. This is closely related to the nervous system. Studies have found that acupuncture can activate the nervous system, causing changes of functional activities and then play a modulatory role through the release of related neurochemicals.

Acupuncture has an effect on neural activities too, with the main form being electrical activities. Electrophysiological studies of neural activities show that acupuncture stimulation can cause peripheral afferent nerve fibres to be excited. On one hand, the excitement could be transmitted via spinal cord to the brain, and after central integration, efferent nerves transfer information to the target organs. On the other hand, the excitement could be transmitted through axon reflex to target organs. 

In recent years, many studies of acupuncture effect on neural functional activities have introduced advanced noninvasive neuroimaging technologies, including positron emission tomography, single-proton emission computerised tomography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. These make it possible to visualise the anatomic and functional effects of acupuncture stimulation in the brain. Studies have found that after inserting the needle into the acupoint, traumatic inflammation occurs, activating the local immunomodulation to the point. They also show that acupuncture gets mast cells to gather in the acupoint, secreting bioactive substances. These secretions caused vasodilatation and they increased local permeability and local reaction.

As the body’s regulatory system, it manifests dual directional, divergent and polymerised characteristics during the progress of maintaining homeostasis. These are similar to the acupuncture’s features of whole regulation, and dual-directional regulation providing basis for the effect of acupuncture being achieved through its modulation of NEI network. This study was done by SS Ding, SH Hong, C Wang, Y Guo, ZK Wang and Y Xu from the College of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China. 

(The author is Head of the Department of Acupuncture, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi.)

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