Does acupuncture help?

does acupuncture hurt? does it help with back pain? does it help with restless leg syndrome? can it help with IBS?

Acupuncture, if done properly, should not hurt because the needle is inserted fast enough before pain receptors in the skin register the needles. However, patients can have what we call the "needling sensation" usually described as "heavy", "distending" or "electric". This means that the brain is responding to the simulation of the needles on other receptors.

It can help with back pain and not just with placebo effect. Research done in western countries like Germany, Australia and the United States have proven that insertion of acupuncture needles can mediate pain on the local level (through release of nitrous oxide to promote circulation), through activation of the periaqueductal gray in the spinal cord (causing release of dynorphins and enkephalins) and stimulation of the VPL nucleus of the hypothalamus, which mediates the pain signal before it reaches the higher cortex.

The evidence is there, skeptics should take a look with an open mind.

Because acupuncture works by goading the body into mediating itself, and because the stimulation of acupuncture needles passes though the nuclei of the hypothalamus (which helps regulate the endocrine system, among others), it can be safely surmised that properly trained acupuncturists can definitely help with IBS. Since Acupuncture has effects on neural pathways, it can also help in restless leg syndrome.

There is not much research done on this topic but test done on a smaller group proved that acupuncture helps in back pain.
The actual acupuncture process is not painfull but you have to go for few rounds depending upon your condition.
I have not heard about any test done in acupuncture for restless leg syndrome or IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome)
http://www.acupunctureworldinfo.com/

The needles themselves are quite small so don't hurt.

Does it help? Depends on who you ask. Anecdotally lots of people claim it helps. Whenever double blind placebo controlled trials are done, it doesn't seem to work any better than placebo. The idea that it "unblocks your qi" is complete nonsense.

Acupuncture turns out to be a really good way of inducing the placebo effect.

Accupuncture has a three or four thousand year history. And it's becoming more and more popular in this country now too (we're finally catching up- who'da guessed?) Accupuncture with a good accupuncturist can help a great deal with all kinds of pain. The back pain, legs and IBS sounds s little suspicious to me in that I have had fibromyalgia for ten years and that's how mine began. Check out any medical website like www.MayoClinic.com, www.UMM.edu (Univ. of Maryland Med School) and read up on symptoms of Fibromyalgia. Accupuncture can help pain, and so can the right exercises- especially for back pain. Check out natural meds like White Willow Bark and Malic Acid (from apples mostly). These, along with specific exercises, can do wonders.

So your back hurts, you need to walk more, and you have a stomach ache. How would sticking needles into your body solve that? Just walk more and don't lay/sit down as much and you'll be fine.

My friend had this done and it worked miracles for her chronic pain you have to go several times in order for it to be affective.

My husband went for a shoulder injury and it was great
My mom went for an arm injury
Both had to go for about 8-10 sessions
It worked

My mom broke her wrist very badly, and tried acupuncture. She said it was really good for the pain, and the needles were so tiny they didn't hurt at all.

Yes, Yers and Yes.