Effect of acupuncture on the cerebral circulation of chronic pain sufferers

Abstract

In the Japanese Guidelines for Chronic Pain 2021, in the clinical questions (CQ) of the Integrative Medicine section, the response to the question “Is acupuncture useful for chronic pain?” is “the recommendation is 2 (weak): weakly recommended (suggested).” Examination of the effects of acupuncture on chronic pain using brain imaging showed that the descending regulatory system, which did not respond to the first acupuncture treatment for chronic migraine, was activated after 4 weeks of continuous acupuncture treatment. Furthermore, in chronic low back pain, there was a difference in brain activity between sham acupuncture and true acupuncture, and pain reduction was significantly higher with true acupuncture. Thus, the effects of acupuncture on chronic pain patients may also affect the pain-related regions of the brain.