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According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago, it became more widely known in the United States in the early 70s. Yet, ask physicians across the country, and many would probably say they've heard that acupuncture can be effective in treating pain, but they don't know how it works.

The term acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques, but the technique most commonly studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

Whether or not acupuncture works has been long-debated; however, the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement on Acupuncture reveals promising study results, showing the efficacy of acupuncture in postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting, and postoperative dental pain. The Statement also suggests other situations — such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, fibromyalgia, and asthma — in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment, an acceptable alternative, or included in a comprehensive management program.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies have become increasingly popular throughout the country and, from the blending of eastern and western medical approaches, Integrative Medicine has emerged.

UCLA's Ted Mann Resource Center [for cancer patients and their families], whose perspective is to treat "the patient as a whole" — not just the disease, has recently expanded its services to include an Integrative Medicine Program for oncology, led by Mary Hardy, MD, founder and former Medical Director of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Integrative Medicine Program. Hardy believes true healing comes from the individual, and it is the clinician's role to help the patient find the internal and external resources needed to return to wellness. Included in the program are acupuncture and guidance with herbs and supplements.

John Barnett, AP, is a Florida State Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncture Physician with Orlando Acupuncture, which staffs four acupuncture physicians and maintains offices in Winter Park, Oviedo and Orlando. Barnett is certified in Oriental Medicine, Chinese Medicine, and Qi (pronounced chee, "life force" or "spiritual energy").

Barnett describes the three-fold methods of acupuncture: "It works on the central nervous system, it works on the peripheral nervous system, and it also works on the chemicals in the blood — the immune system, and neurotransmitters and hormones. It changes basically every facet of how the body functions, and through all this you get a significant amount of pain relief, not to mention it releases the endorphins, which is the body's natural pain relievers."

In the central nervous system method, acupuncture actually changes brain function — how the brain perceives pain signals.

In the peripheral nervous system method, also called the pain gate theory, acupuncture stimulates the nerves and overwhelms the pain response, short-circuiting the nerve so it no longer receives the pain signal from the origin of pain and thus interrupts that pain response.

In the third method, the blood chemistry changes in response to acupuncture. So, if there is a tendon inflammation, acupuncture would specifically modulate those immune responses causing the inflammation to reduce it.

Acupuncture has been used in cancer cases, mostly as an adjunct therapy to help relieve the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Regarding chemotherapy, Barnett says acupuncture has worked very well in relieving nausea and vomiting, sometimes immediately.

With radiation, acupuncture and herbs are used as an adjunct to restore normal function in many patients who experience problems such as decreased white blood counts, low energy levels, and loss of appetite. Huang qi (English terminology is astragalus) is a commonly-used herbal tea, which helps the immune system rebound.

The number of needles used in acupuncture, and the points of insertion, are determined by the individual's particular set of conditions. One caution with cancer patients is to avoid inserting needles directly into the local area of a malignant tumor because the tumor could be broken up and dispersed.

With benign tumors, acupuncture and herbs can be used to treat and help shrink them. "If it's non-cancerous, you want the body to get rid of it, so it's a very different treatment," says Barnett. "[In this situation,] herbs become very important... it's called activating the blood circulation."

Barnett describes the Chinese theory that tumors result from blood stagnation or phlegm nodulation, which cause blockages in the body. Treatment focuses on herbs to break down the masses and increase circulation to eliminate the waste from the body.

Depending upon what type of benign tumor it is, there are specific herbs that go to those areas and will break them down, explains Barnett. These techniques would not be used for malignant tumors because the acupuncturist would not want to break down the tumor or cause the cells to circulate through the body.

Acupuncture can also relieve cancer pain, depending upon the source of the pain. If a tumor is pressing on a nerve, acupuncture will not move that tumor off the nerve. However, acupuncture can help the person to relax; to perceive less pain; and, through stimulation of the body, to release endorphins — its natural painkillers.

The needles used are sterile, single-use, and disposable; and the duration of treatment varies. Although some patients may experience improvement in the first treatment, Barnett recommends three to six treatments before making a judgment, as some problem sources take time to resolve.

Many health insurance policies cover acupuncture. Some specifically cover acupuncture to treat nausea from chemotherapy. Barnett says Orlando Acupuncture is the only local Acupuncture Network Provider for United Healthcare. So, rather than assume acupuncture treatments are not covered, policyholders should check with their respective insurance companies to ascertain benefits, as this therapy can significantly help cancer patients endure and recover from the ravages of cancer and conventional treatments.

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