recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine may prove that there is another treatment option that may be available to those suffering from cocaine addiction. Arthur Margolin, Ph D at Yale University School of Medicine followed 82 cocaine-addicted participants assigning certain people to receive auricular acupuncture and another number to receive relaxation techniques. Auricular acupuncture for addiction involves the insertion of four acupuncture needles into four specific points in the outer ear. Dr. Margolin's group found that over half of the acupuncture patients (53.8%) were cocaine free after eight weeks, compared to one-quarter (23.5%) in a control acupuncture group (needles inserted where not known to give a therapeutic response), and only 9.1% in a relaxation group (relaxing techniques applied only, no acupuncture). Experts believe this may represent a significant turning point in the use of acupuncture, and lead to greater acceptance by the medical community.
Acupuncture treating people with addiction problems is not new. There have been an increasing number of rehabilitation clinics using acupuncture for those suffering from alcoholism. To many patients, acupuncture helps with cravings of alcohol, and aids in reducing withdrawal symptoms, limiting anxiety and depression. It has also been a popular alternative treatment in smoking, with claims to help with minimizing the addicting effects of nicotine and reproducing its relaxing effects.
Acupuncture involves inserting needles in specific points in the body. Heat or electrical stimulation is then applied to the needles. In Chinese literature, it is believed that the body is composed of meridians of energy, and using acupuncture needles allows the body to unblock possible obstructions to the energy, known as qi. Today's scientific community believes the benefits of acupuncture may be due to the needles stimulating release of neurochemicals and hormones that influence the biochemical process of the body. Whatever the explanation, the ages old method has stimulated interest in both patients and physicians, and the use of acupuncture is now at an all-time high.
Although most associated with aiding in pain and stress, acupuncture may have broader applications for treatments. The World Health Organization has recognized the treatment of acupuncture for these conditions:
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Respiratory Disorders: bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia
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Neurologic Disorders: Tendinitis, sciatica, facial tics
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Digestive Disorders: Spastic colon, diarrhea, constipation
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Urinary, menstrual, reproductive disorders
With more studies in quality medical journals like JAMA and the Archives of Internal Medicine, acupuncture stands to gain a wider spread of acceptance in the Western community. Interestingly, not only are a significant number of physicians are referring patients for acupuncture for certain conditions, but some physicians are actually learning to incorporate acupuncture into their practice. Institutions such as UCLA have courses to train physicians in "medical acupuncture", attempting to legitimize the practice in the medical communitys' eyes by licensing doctors to practice acupuncture in certain states. A call for further studies to better elucidate the biological reasoning why acupuncture works will be needed to further break the barrier of acceptance.
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