Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
- Symptoms include pain
- Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs
- Partial or complete loss of vision
- Slurred speech
- Ccognitive impairment
- Muscle spasms and depression
Modern therapies, however, do not reduce many of the symptoms, namely, pain or depression. That is why patients with multiple sclerosis search for alternative treatments, for example, acupuncture.
Effectiveness of acupuncture
A clinical study about the effectiveness of acupuncture on the quality of life of the patients who had recurring multiple sclerosis while having been treated with “immunomodulators” was published in 2012. Immunomodulators are the active agents of immunotherapy, a treatment to enhance or suppress an immune response. The study was carried out in the MS outpatient clinic of the University of Campinas Hospital in Campinas in the State of São Paulo in Brazil between 2008 and 2010.
According to this study, thirty-one of the participants were divided into two groups. The first group received “sham” acupuncture, which simulates true acupuncture. The second group received true acupuncture. The true acupuncture was shown to improve the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis after the period of six-month treatment. It helped reduce pain, depression, leg spasms, incontinence, and constipation. In addition, the true acupuncture group saw improvements to sleep, appetite, and mobility in the eyes in the patient subjects
Other study case
In another study, patients experiencing chronic pain and fatigue due to multiple sclerosis (MS) were treated with acupuncture to study the effectiveness of the remedy on the chronic pain. 49 patients were treated with the traditional methods, with the acupuncture treatment given twice a week for 6 months. Their pain and fatigue were closely studied during this duration with the Oswestry disability index (ODI). The calculated ODI scores, both before and after treatment, in addition to the ten variables contributing to ODI, were observed to have been decreased in a great amount after the acupuncture treatment.
Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) also were evaluated with regards to the therapeutic effects of acupuncture. The method involved taking 42 patients in an observation group and a control group, with the observation group receiving acupuncture in addition to the basic treatment. The treatment was given twice a week for 3 months with follow-up visits for 2 years. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score, the annual recurrent rate, and recurrent interval were observed both before and after treatment. The observation groups EDSS scores showed a reduction in comparison to their previous, pre-acupuncture scores in follow-ups conducted in 3 and 6 months. The observation groups consistently showed lower scores than the control groups. Similar results showed in comparison of annual recurrent rates and the recurrent interval when both groups were compared. The results showed that acupuncture has a significant therapeutic impact on relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in the remission stage. It has shown to relieve symptoms like neural functional deficits in addition to delaying the occurrence and reducing the annual recurrent rate.
Sunrise Neuro-Acupuncture Integrative Clinic is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine clinic in Westboro, Ottawa. We provide care for multiple sclerosis. If you would like to receive more information about this treatment, you can call us at: 613-853-9099
Sources
1. Juan G Quispe-Cabanillas et al. (2012) Impact of electro-acupuncture on quality of patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis under treatment with immunomodulators: A randomized study. BMC Complement Altern Med. 5;12:209. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-209
2. Tajik A, D. S. (2012). Efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic pain and fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Isfahan Medical School, 1–7
3. Wang C, C. Z. (2017). Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis at remission stage treated with acupuncture: a randomized controlled trial. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu, 576-580