Acupuncture in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia

Category: Medicine
Keywords: acupuncture, treatment, fibromyalgia

Ignored or regarded as ineffective in the past, alternative therapies have nowadays regained peoples interest, proving their great capacity to produce curative effects in persons confronted with a variety of diseases. Although most of the existing alternative therapies have recently proved very efficient in providing symptomatic relief to patients with various physiological or neuropsychological diseases, doctors still consider that parallel forms of treatment shouldnt completely replace modern medical treatments. Most doctors claim that in order to obtain the best curative effects, one should combine medical treatments with alternative therapies, not to choose parallel medicine therapies over modern treatments or vice-versa.

One of todays most popular forms of alternative therapy consists in acupuncture. This ancient oriental practice has proved very effective in relieving the symptoms produced by a wide range of neurological diseases, including fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a serious disease of suspected neurological cause that primarily determines pronounced impairments of the musculoskeletal system and neuropsychological dysfunctions such as depression. Fibromyalgia is manifested by chronic musculoskeletal pain, stiffness of the joints, generalized fatigue and sleep problems. Unfortunately, there is no specific cure for fibromyalgia at present and existing medical treatments arent very efficient in controlling the manifestations of the disorder.

Considering the fact that modern medicine cant provide fibromyalgia patients with adequate help, complementary medicine may be the key to controlling the progression and the manifestations of the disorder. A series of recent studies have proved that acupuncture can substantially improve the condition of patients with fibromyalgia, providing relief for most symptoms of the disorder and reducing the risks of permanent damage that may lead to disability. Randomized, controlled trials led by reputed complementary medicine practitioners have revealed that acupuncture has great potential in reducing the impact of fibromyalgia on patients. Regularly performed on fibromyalgia patients, acupuncture can reduce the intensity and duration of existing symptoms by up to 60 percent. With supportive drug treatments and lifestyle improvements, patients who follow acupuncture therapy can gradually overcome the disease and regain control of their lives.

When performed properly and regularly, acupuncture can alleviate symptoms such as muscular pain, joint rigidity, generalized fatigue, anxiety, and even depression. Another advantage of acupuncture is that it is very well tolerated, very safe for the organism and has no side-effects (unlike most synthetic drugs prescribed by doctors in the treatment of fibromyalgia). However, it is important to note that acupuncture therapy needs to be frequently repeated in order to obtain substantial symptomatic improvement. In addition, the benefic results of acupuncture generally become noticeable after a few months of ongoing therapy.

Due to the necessity of ongoing therapy, the long-term costs of acupuncture can be very high and for patients with a less favorable material situation, ongoing acupuncture therapy is unaffordable. However, it is considerably better to invest money in a form of therapy that actually works, rather than spend a small fortune on synthetic, unsafe drugs that fail to produce any noticeable improvements.

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