Scientists Discover How Acupuncture Eases Pain

Last week, newspapers such as the Guardian and the Daily Mail described a research project in New York that  has discovered that acupuncture triggers the release of natural painkillers in the body.

The researchers, headed by Maiken Nedergaard, gave regular acupuncture to mice with sore paws and found that after 30 minutes the mice felt less discomfort in their paws. Their theory is that the acupuncture needles caused local, small-scale tissue damage which stimulated cells to produce adenosine, an anti-inflammatory chemical, that was effective for up to an hour after the therapy was over. The team at Rochester Medical Centre believe that adenosine levels increased more than 20 fold and pain was eased by two-thirds.

This research contradicts the notion that acupuncture produces a placebo effect, as has been previously argued by Western medics and scientists.