The Complete Guide to Fibromyalgia by Sharon Ostalecki

Acupuncture in the Management of Fibromyalgia: Mitch Elkiss, D.O.

Chronic Pain

Pain is one of the great remaining mysteries of medical science. But we are getting ever closer to the answers. We do know that many sets of nerve-cell fibers are involved, each secreting their own neurotransmitter to communicate with the nerve cells they connect to. Some of these neurotransmitters make it easier for the pain sensing nerve fibers to fire which increases our sensitivity to pain. Other neurotransmitters make it harder for the nerve fibers to fire, thus decreasing our sensitivity to pain. In other words, some act as an accelerator, and others act as a brake. Morhpine, for example, is of the latter type. It kills pain because it is a neurotransmitter that inhibits the transmission of pain stimuli. The brain naturally produces it when we are in pain - though not in the massive amounts that a physician can prescribe.

Normally, the brain increases production of opiates and other pain-killing neurotransmitters to desensitize us to pain that doesn't go away.

Chronic pain represents a hyperactive state of the central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (ouside the brain and spinal cord) in which both systems become sensitized to pain. Over time, the nervous system begins to over-respond to pain stimuli. This means that it takes less stimulation to cause pain and that pain is felt for a much longer period of time following the stimulus.

Moreover, in chronic pain the sympathetic nervous system is often in a heightened state of arousal. What is the sympathetic nervous system? It's a massive network of nerves throughout the brain, spinal cord, and body that causes the familiar "fight-or-flight" response, in which the body is almost instantly prepared for a dangerous emergency. Heart-rate increases, breathing rate increases, blood pressure rises, emotions flare, adrenalin flows. Needless to stay, it's unhealthy to be in this aroused state more or less permanently. It leads to high blood pressure, irritable bowel symptoms, anxiety and despair.

Acupuncture for Chronic Pain/Fibromyalgia

In French energetic terms, acupuncture can help reveal and define the energetic imbalance that underlies your symptoms. This helps us understand the path that led to illness and that will lead back to wellness. Understanding the dynamics of becoming unbalanced (i.e., ill) allows us to know what treatment can address both the root (cause) and the branches (symptoms) of your illness. In the traditional Chinese medical (TCM) approach, recognizing a pattern of dysfunction reveals the appropriate intervention. The diagnosis comes from questioning, listening, hearing, palpating points and pulses, and looking at the tongue, facial color, and the sparkle in the eye or lack thereof. In all these systems, the treatment improves circulation of Qi, blood, and fluids. Treatment also helps the body's mechanisms for maintaining a steady state, thus moving you toward better balance and better health.

Acupuncture acts on pain-sensing nerve fiber transmission in two ways. One way is by increasing the strength of inhibitory (pain blocking) circuits in the brainstem.The brainstem circuits at the top of the spinal cord act as pain gates that are closed by acupuncture. The other way is by reducing excitability of pain circuits in the spinal cord and brain. These acupuncture-induced alterations reduce the hypersensitivity of the nervous system that develops in chronic pain. It also works by calming the chronically hyper-aroused sympathetic nervous system which reduces the muscle contractions present in fibromyalgia.

In all these systems, the treatment improves circulation of Qi, blood, and fluids. Treatment also helps the body's mechanisms for maintaining a steady state, thus moving you toward better balance and better health.

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