Multiple Sclerosis and Acupuncture

The document discusses whether acupuncture is an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). While acupuncture has shown promise in treating some conditions, there have been no large studies on its use for MS. Since acupuncture may stimulate the immune system and MS is believed to be an autoimmune disease, acupuncture could potentially increase immune attacks on the myelin sheath surrounding nerves. The document concludes that acupuncture cannot currently be recommended for MS due to this risk and lack of proven benefits, and other alternative therapies should be considered until more research is done.

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Multiple Sclerosis and Acupuncture

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MS and Acupuncture – Does Acupuncture Work for Multiple Sclerosis? http://ms.about.com/od/alternativemedicine/f/ms_acupuncture.

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Multiple Sclerosis

Does Acupuncture Work for

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Multiple Sclerosis? Discuss in My Forum
By Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D., About.com Updated: May 1, 2007
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Suman Jayadev, MD

1 of 3 10/3/2008 7:31 PM
MS and Acupuncture – Does Acupuncture Work for Multiple Sclerosis? http://ms.about.com/od/alternativemedicine/f/ms_acupuncture.htm

Question: Does Acupuncture Work for Multiple Sclerosis?

Answer: Acupuncture is an ancient medical system that holds promise for treating many conditions. To date, there have
been no large studies of acupuncture and MS. Given that acupuncture has no history of treating MS and there is a
possibility that acupuncture may make MS worse – we recommend avoiding acupuncture until further studies are done.

Evidence for Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been shown to help people with a variety of symptoms. Overall, acupuncture has been shown to relieve
postoperative and chemotherapy-related nausea and postoperative dental pain. Research has also been done that shows
promise for addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headaches, menstrual cramps and other conditions. There has been almost no
research on MS and acupuncture.

Acupuncture's Mechanism

There are various theories within the acupuncture world that discuss how the placement of the needle “unblocks” the
body’s vital energy, called qi or chi. Chinese medicine does not contain the concept of a nervous system, rather relies on
theories of how the vital energy moves through a system of pathways (called “meridians”) in the body. Part of this
increased energy flow may be due to a stimulation of the immune system.

MS and Acupuncture

Because acupuncture may stimulate the immune system, there is an implied danger in using acupuncture for MS. Most
researchers believe that MS is an autoimmune disease, meaning that it is the result of the body’s immune system
attacking the healthy cells surrounding the nerves, called myelin. If acupuncture stimulates the immune system, there is a
chance it may increase the damage caused by MS by activating the very immune cells that are attacking the person’s own
myelin.

But My Acupuncturist Said . . .

Acupuncture is an ancient medical system that evolved thousands of years ago in China and Asia. MS is an adult-onset
illness first diagnosed in 1849 that occurs mostly in people of European descent. Acupuncture simply has no history of
treating MS, either historically or in modern times. That is not to say that acupuncture is not valuable, but that it currently
has no proven application for MS – only theories.

The Bottom Line

Overall, acupuncture cannot be recommended for MS. It may be useful in the short term for treating some MS symptoms,
but the risk of increasing immune system activity is too great. Seek other alternative therapies until we have more
information on acupuncture.

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Multiple Sclerosis and Acupuncture

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Multiple Sclerosis and Acupuncture

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MS and Acupuncture – Does Acupuncture Work for Multiple Sclerosis? http://ms.about.com/od/alternativemedicine/f/ms_acupuncture.

Does Acupuncture Work for

Question: Does Acupuncture Work for Multiple Sclerosis?

Evidence for Acupuncture

But My Acupuncturist Said . . .

The Bottom Line

More Multiple Sclerosis Q&A

Explore Multiple Sclerosis

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