Alternative pain management offered by acupuncture

Acupuncture treatment has a significant effect on specific nerve structures, making it a useful alternative therapy for patients suffering from chronic pain.

New research from the Universities of York and Hull found that the ancient medical practice works on the brain's pain processes rather than targeting physical points of the body.

Director of the British Medical Acupuncture Society Dr Mike Cummings said that through its general effects on the brain, acupuncture can also be used to treat mood disorders such as depression.

He explained: "Acupuncture tends to result in decreased activity in some of the primitive parts of the brain associated with pain, suffering and mood.

"It also has effects on sensory nerves in the spinal cord and in nerve endings around the area stimulated."

Findings of a separate study published at the start of February suggest that acupuncture may be a safe and effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.

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