Ease Cancer Pain with Acupuncture and Acupressure
To establish a starting point, we’ll revisit the practice of both acupuncture and acupressure. Dating back over 3,000 years this form of diagnosis and treatment started in China with sharpened rocks. Today it is a tested and proven method to treat different diseases, disorders and pain conditions. The most common ailments that continue to respond well to acupuncture include arthritis, tendinitis, headaches, chronic pain, respiratory disorders, skin problems and digestive disorders.
Acupuncture uses needles and acupressure practitioners use direct pressure from their fingers to stimulate muscles and increase blood flow and oxygen. Various pressure points have been proven to connect the body through meridians which are energy channels.
Cancer and Cancer Treatment involves Pain
Recent research has now suggested that both acupuncture and acupressure was significantly associated with the reduction of pain when it comes to cancer treatments. The researchers are recommending that further rigorous clinical trials be done to identify further the results on specific types of cancer. Previous earlier studies have been inconsistent on the effect of cancer pain, so these new results are extremely encouraging.
Minimize the Reliance on Pain Relievers
It is being recommended that if acupuncture can become a more standard method of pain management for cancer patients that it can make a demonstrable dent in the reduction of the use of opioids for pain. This then would also reduce the onslaught of side effects as the body is already dealing with managing the high doses of chemotherapy and other harsh medications. Acupuncture can help the body work through its own methods of managing pain without overtaxing the body. Even the reduction of stress and nausea plays a big role in benefiting cancer treatment and pain management.
The Continued Benefits of Acupuncture and Acupressure Treatment
Acupuncture and acupressure do the same work as opioids in boosting the immune system and helping physiologically. It can improve and work in conjunction with conventional medicine. Acupuncture and acupressure can have positive effects on the entire human body.
Chemotherapy treatments can cause a long list of side effects. Acupuncture has and can ideally help with many of them. It can stymie nausea, dry mouth, post-surgery pain, joint pain associated with aromatase inhibitors, peripheral neuropathy, anxiety, poor sleep, fatigue and help with regulating the entire immune system.
The practice of acupuncture and acupressure takes on a different view point. Rather than treating a disease it instead focuses on treating the person and then the disease that is manifesting itself in that person.
The recent opioid crisis in America has opened some eyes and created an optimism about new methods of treatment when it comes to dealing with pain. Especially when it comes to considering methods that are minimally invasive and far more affordable than a constant reliance on a pain medication.
The National Institute of Health has acknowledged a number of studies that show the success of acupuncture when it comes to chronic pain. It relieves pain in the back and neck and can dramatically reduce the incidence of tension headaches and even migraines. Your body has natural endorphins that the practice releases, which are natural pain killers.