Ancient Acupuncture and myofascial pain therapy focus on similar points of the body, though they do differently.
Study results published in the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, suggest that either of the two therapies could benefit those who wish to receive pain relief for chronic skeletal muscle, according to Dr. Peter Dorsher, chronic pain specialist from the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville – Florida.
“This may seem surprising for professional practice another technique, these therapies are unique and are separated by thousands of years,” he said. “However, the study reveals that for the treatment of pain disorders, acupuncture and myofascial techniques are fundamentally similar, which is great news for anyone looking for pain relief.
Traditional Chinese acupuncture treats pain and a variety of health disorders with fine needles to “reset” nerve transmission, explains Dr. Dorsher. The needles are inserted into one or more of the 361 traditional acupuncture points directed to specific organs or pain. “It’s a very safe and effective technique,” he says.
The therapy for myofascial trigger points began to develop from mid-nineteenth century, and is concentrated in areas susceptible muscle or “trigger points”. There are approximately 255 such zones, as described in the Trigger Point Manual (trigger point), original text on myofascial pain.
They think they are painful areas which are composed of muscle and fascia, or network that soft tissue around muscles, bones, organs and other body structures. To relieve pain in trigger points are used, injections, deep pressure, massage, mechanical vibration and electrical stimulation.
Dr. Dorsher analyzed studies published on both techniques and demonstrated that both the acupuncture points and trigger points that are used to treat pain disorders are anatomically and clinically similar.
In a recent study, Dr. Dorsher found that at least 92% of the trigger points correspond to acupuncture anatomy, and in terms of pain, clinical correspondence over 95%. “This means that traditional acupuncture points are located in the same area of the body that trigger points and are used for the same type of problem, in addition to the pattern of referred pain in the trigger point follows the path of the meridian point described by the Chinese acupuncture for over two thousand years, “says Dr. Dorsher.
The myofascial pain therapy has incorporated the use of acupuncture needles in a treatment called “dry needle” to treat trigger points in muscles. “The treatment of myofascial pain is an independently rediscover the healing principles of traditional Chinese medicine,” says Dr. Dorsher. “What possibly links the two disciplines is the nervous system that transmits the pain.”