The Anti-inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture
Drawing from his own experiences in researching the effects of acupuncture treatment for allergic rhinitis (hay fever) on the immune system, Dr McDonald overviews how acupuncture can treat a broad range of inflammatory conditions including allergic rhinitis, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, osteoarthritis and migraine.
The Anti-inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture
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What you will learn
- Effectively communicate with patients, other health practitioners & the community at large when asked that question – “So how does acupuncture work?”
- Understand that a course of acupuncture treatment can produce improvements in symptoms that continue to increase for months after the last treatment.
- Overview of acupuncture’s anti-inflammatory effects research.
- Appreciate that manual acupuncture, low frequency electroacupuncture and high frequency electroacupuncture can have quite different effects in inflammatory conditions as they activate different pathways, thereby affecting different aspects of inflammation.
Course Overview
Inflammation was defined by Roman physician Celsus around 100AD by four characteristics – redness, heat, swelling and pain. The anti-inflammatory effects of acupuncture are relevant to the treatment of numerous inflammatory conditions, including allergy and chronic inflammation. These anti-inflammatory effects involve complex interactions between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, and next to pain, are the most thoroughly studied area of acupuncture’s physiological mechanisms.
It is clear that different aspects of inflammation involve different pathways. For example, inflammatory swelling is largely mediated by the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, but inflammatory pain involves quite different pathways. Broadly speaking, the research can be divided into studies of nervous pathways, the HPA axis, mediators, receptors and signalling pathways.
Drawing from his own experiences in researching the effects of acupuncture treatment for allergic rhinitis (hay fever) on the immune system, Dr McDonald overviews how acupuncture can treat a broad range of inflammatory conditions including allergic rhinitis, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, osteoarthritis and migraine. The value of this research is not necessarily in providing guidance for point selection, but rather helping us to be taken seriously by those with a medical background who are genuinely skeptical of whether acupuncture really works. When we tell such people how acupuncture works, they forget to ask us if acupuncture works.
Taking this course you will better communicate when asked that question – “So how does acupuncture work?”. For patients, simply informing them that acupuncture works as an anti-inflammatory is usually sufficient. For health practitioners who may want more detail, we can direct them to the relevant published research so that they can educate themselves.
You will understand how acupuncture treatment can produce improvements in symptoms that continue to increase for months after the last treatment. In chronic pain this is due to neuroplastic changes in the nervous system. In inflammatory conditions there is clearly a lasting modulation of the immune system. This is something that no anti-inflammatory medication can ever achieve.
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By registering for this course, I agree to abide by the NCCAOM PDA Course Participant Attestation.
I understand that the information in this course presented by the Provider and/or Instructor(s) is for educational purposes only and should only be applied with appropriate clinical judgment and used by a trained and licensed
practitioner. Governmental laws and regulations vary from region to region and the contents of this course vary in permissible usage. The participant is required to check their local, state, and federal laws and regulations regarding the practice requirements and scope of practice issues and the use of the information of this course including, but not limited to, theory, herbal medicine, and acupuncture. I acknowledge that NCCAOM does not endorse any specific treatment regimens of any kind. Furthermore, if I use any modalities or treatments taught in this course, I agree to waive, release, indemnify, discharge, and covenant not to sue NCCAOM from and against any liability, claims, demands, or causes of action whatsoever, arising out of any injury, loss, or damage that a person may sustain related to the use of the information in this course. I understand that this Release is governed by the laws of District of Columbia, U.S.A. and shall survive the termination or expiration of this course.
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Course Content
About the Teacher
Course Includes
- 1:50 Hours Course Duration
- Course Certificate
- Course Credits
AACMA2 CPD's 
ACICertificate 
AGTCMCertificate 
NCCAOM2.5 CEU's 
TCM FACHVERBAND2.5 Hours Course Reviews
Thank you for a very detailed information on anti-inflammatory actions of acupuncture!
December 11, 2024Thank you for a very detailed information on anti-inflammatory actions of acupuncture! It’s always a priviledge to hear from a researcher involved in the actual topic. Greatly appreciate your effort and contributions to our field, John!
Thank you John
May 9, 2021Thank you John for another well-informed presentation. I enjoyed listening to your experiences whilst improving my understanding and knowledge of the underlying physiological processes influenced by acupuncture! Highly recommend this course to all acupuncturists.
very good to support acupuncture
May 1, 2021There was a lot of scientific terms. However, the information provided was very good to support acupuncture as an anti-inflammatory treatment. The presenter has spent a lot of work on this topic.
