Rutgers Research Shows Acupuncture Can Treat Inflammation

Acupuncture has been used in China for thousands of years to restore and maintain good health by improving blood and energy flow, stimulating the body’s immune system and activating our natural healing powers. Although the effectiveness of acupuncture has been scientifically proven, the acceptance of acupuncture has been extremely slow in our country.

When you look at the American health system, which focuses on treating disease with medication and surgery instead of preventing disease through a wellness lifestyle, it’s easy to see why the medical establishment has been reluctant to embrace acupuncture. It doesn’t fit in with their way of thinking.

I hope new scientific evidence produced by researchers at Rutgers University, added to the mountain of evidence that already exists, will motivate them to change their way of thinking, especially as it relates to acupuncture.

The research established a direct connection between a form of acupuncture and relief from sepsis, an inflammatory disorder that can develop after an infection. Sepsis most commonly occurs in hospitals, claiming approximately 250,000 lives in our country each year. In other words, people don’t die from the infection. They die from sepsis.

Researchers used electroacupuncture, a form of acupuncture that sends a very small electric current through the needle to magnify its effectiveness, to reduce sepsis-related deaths in mice by 40 percent. Electrification is an FDA-approved treatment for pain in humans.

Luis Ulloa of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Center for Immunity and Inflammation, who led the study, believes the research proves the value of acupuncture more than any previous study. He also points out that the research results show promise for using acupuncture to treat other inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and Crohn’s disease.

Taking a look at the bigger picture, this kind of research reinforces the importance of an integrated approach to health and wellness rather than promoting one form of treatment over all others.

Let’s be careful not to dismiss so-called alternative approaches to treatment, especially when they’ve been scientifically proven to be safe and effective. Whether you’re dealing with an acute injury or chronic illness, we need to address your physical, nutritional and psychological needs – the entire Triad of Health. This is impossible if you only use one treatment option.

Acupuncture is one of many tools in the Natural Healthcare Center shed that we use to develop a personalized treatment plan for each one of our patients – the kind of treatment plan that helps you feel better, function better and live longer.

Dr. James Prood­ian is an accomplished chiropractic physician and health educator who founded Proodian Healthcare Family of Companies to help people feel better, function better, and live longer. His expertise for the past two decades has been in physical rehabilitation, and he has successfully established himself as a spinal specialist. In his practice, he advocates the science of functional medicine, which takes an integrative approach to treating patients by addressing their physical, nutritional, and psychological needs. Alarmed by the escalation of complex, chronic illness in our country, Dr. Proodian has been speaking to companies and organizations through his “Wellness at Work” program since 1994, motivating thousands of people to make positive lifestyle choices and lead healthier, more productive lives. He can be heard weekly on his radio program, “Proodian Healthcare By Design,” on Tandem Radio.