Acupuncture as a painkiller:

Dr. Gokhan Guvener

Otorhinolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeon, Acupuncturist

Tel: 07521 195818

https://www.instagram.com/drgokhanguvener?

Most research shows that acupuncture relieves pain. Thousands of studies have documented the effect and researchers have also been able to explain the mechanism in which pain is alleviated in a scientifically acceptable way. We now know that many different factors contribute to the effect of pain relief.

The effect that acupuncture has in alleviating pain may be explained in several ways. It is well known that endorphins are released during acupuncture. In addition to endorphins, many other neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers of the nervous system) and hormones (chemical substances released by glands into the blood, which influence other organs that have receptors for them) are released, which contribute to the pain relief. Another explanation may be that pain impulses are blocked at spinal cord level and don’t reach the brain (gate control theory)
It is often forgotten, however, that pain relief from acupuncture does not always depend on a neurological blocking or on an increase in the amount of endorphins. For example, ischaemic pain (due to lack of oxygen because the blood can- not circulate) is relieved by acupuncture because of its effect in dilating the blood vessels, while the painful effects of gastric ulcers are diminished because of acupuncture’s effects in regulating the amount of hydrochloric acid secreted in the gastric juices.
Kajsa Landgren