Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Beyond the Placebo Question

For decades, skeptics dismissed acupuncture as elaborate placebo. Contemporary research tells a more nuanced story, showing measurable effects on endogenous opioids, adenosine signaling and connective tissue mechanotransduction.

Chronic pain involves central sensitization — the nervous system becomes amplified. Acupuncture appears to help down-regulate this sensitization over a course of treatment.

Best results come from an individualized approach within a complete Chinese medical assessment, not a one-size-fits-all protocol.