Acupuncture Can Be an Effective Option for Children

The use of acupuncture continues to grow in the US as more patients consider it a viable treatment option when performed by doctors trained in "Western" medicine as well as in acupuncture as a specialty. Acupuncture is a healing practice dating back to ancient China. Then as now, it involves the insertion of tiny needles at precise points on the body to influence its inner workings in ways that are becoming less and less mysterious.

As researchers and modern medical acupuncturists learn more about how acupuncture works, they're also finding that it can be an effective treatment option for children with a wide range of conditions. That's the case at the Jane B. Pettit Comprehensive Pain Management Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where a Medical College of Wisconsin faculty member has treated children as young as two and a half years with acupuncture and is leading one study of it in pediatric patients.

"I've used acupuncture to treat many kids," said Lynn M. Rusy, MD, FAAMA, Medical College Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Associate Director of the pain center. "There are some great cases showing how you can use the acupuncture in conjunction with medical therapies, and the practice here is growing. Now we have three acupuncturists as well as a massage therapist who work with children."

As with adults, acupuncture is often considered when other approaches have not solved the problem. It can be used exclusively or in conjunction with other treatments. The drug-free, very minimally invasive and relatively pain-free nature of acupuncture helps to make it an especially useful tool for some young patients.

Why Acupuncture Works
Over the course of centuries, Chinese healing practitioners operated under the belief that there are 12 main and eight secondary "meridians" (channels) of energy flow in the human body. They also identified more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the surface body thought to connect with the internal energy pathways.

Having concluded that disease and pain result from blockages of one or more channels, they learned to place needles at one or another end of the channel, at specific acupuncture points, to restore healthy energy and thus treat the pain or illness. Whether or not the belief in "meridians of energy" was well founded, acupuncture became a standard treatment in "Eastern" medicine because, by and large, it seemed to work.

Now, an expanding body of research is revealing the science behind the positive outcomes. "The historical Chinese theory says that you have an illness, a pain problem, a disease, because the meridians are dammed up," said Dr. Rusy. "So, you put needles at both ends of the pathways. A person having knee pain might have needles around their knees but also in the foot, the ear, the chest, because the acupuncturist is activating that whole meridian to open up that flow of energy.

"The other theory, the scientific explanation, is that there is a release of endorphins, natural pain killers. And there's a lot of evidence coming out now through the use of functional MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging tests) showing that a patient under acupuncture has more blood flow to certain areas of the brain." acupuncture may also release immune system cells as well as neurotransmitters and neurohormones in the brain, and research has shown that glucose and other bloodstream chemicals become elevated after acupuncture.

"Endorphins are what we release in our body when we're exercising," said Dr. Rusy. "Even though you might not feel great while exercising, you do feel good afterwards. When patients have acupuncture they become relaxed, their breathing slows, and they get sleepy, even frequently falling asleep on the table while I'm working. Sometimes we have to almost wake them up after the treatment. When teenagers come in for maintenance acupuncture I'll ask them to sit in the lobby for twenty minutes or so after the session to 'recover' from the treatment. I don't want them to get in a car and drive off if they're feeling a little bit 'out of it'."

"Needling" for a Range of Problems
The primary needles used in acupuncture are very thin, made of solid stainless steel, not hollow with cutting edges like injection needles. Inserting the smooth point of acupuncture needles through the skin is not as painful as injection needles or blood sampling, with less risk of bruising and skin irritation. Often associated with pain control, acupuncture "needling" has broader applications.

The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture describes as follows some of the medical problems for which the World Health Organization recognizes the use of acupuncture in treatment:

• Digestive disorders: gastritis and hyperacidity, spastic colon, constipation, diarrhea
• Respiratory disorders: sinusitis, sore throat, bronchitis, asthma, recurrent chest infections
• Neurological and muscular disorders: headaches, facial tics, neck pain, rib neuritis, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, various forms of tendonitis, low back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis
• Urinary, menstrual and reproductive problems

Acupuncture can also help resolve physical problems related to tension, stress, emotional and other conditions that may not be clearly identified clinically, according to the AAMA. This potential benefit of acupuncture can help some children who don't present neatly with a condition on the "adult" list.

"Basically, the needling is the same as it's been for many, many years," said Dr. Rusy. "Discovering more about how acupuncture works, and trying to prove its mechanisms, is what's new and exciting."

Dan Ullrich
HealthLink Contributing Writer

For more information on this topic, see the second part of Dr. Rusy's article, Medical College Practitioner Eases Pain with Acupuncture.

MCW Health News presents up-to-date information on patient care and medical research by the physicians of the Medical College of Wisconsin.