Acupuncture Helps Post-Operative Pain

New research which analyzed the results of 15 clinical trials has concluded that acupuncture is valuable for pain control in surgery patients. The types of surgery the patients were undergoing varied between abdominal procedures, orthopedic procedures, and gynecological procedures.

The trials were conducted on patients who received acupuncture before and during their surgeries, and the results were much reduced post-operative pain and less need for pain-killing medication. Since pain medication such as morphine and other opioids have many side effects, nausea and vomiting from the use of these drugs was also reduced in patients. In terms of pain-drug side effects, the acupuncture patients experienced 1.5 times lower rates of nausea, 1.6 times fewer reports of dizziness and 3.5 times fewer cases of urinary retention compared to the other patients, the study found.

Although this study showed lots of benefits for receiving acupuncture treatment before and during surgery, acupuncture can also be extremely useful even for patients who have already had surgery. Many times surgery leaves patients with decreased range of motion and continual aches and pains in addition to scar tissue. Acupuncture treatments are able to help the body accelerate its healing process, improve pain levels and even reduce scar tissue both immediately following the surgery or any time thereafter.

Read the full article here.

Posted by Jessica Silver, MAOM, L.Ac.

Aiyana Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs