Research & News

The Qi Phenomenon

by Adam Cantor, MS, LAc

An acupuncturist's insight into the physical side of Qi.
http://wakeup-world.com/2013/01/06/acupuncture-the-qi-phenomenon/

How Double-Blind Studies Sell Acupuncture Short

by Adam Cantor, MS, LAc

An op-ed on why the Western paradigm often used to study the efficacy of acupuncture is folly.
Read: http://wakeup-world.com/2012/12/19/breaking-the-western-medicine-paradigm-how-double-blind-studies-sell-acupuncture-short/

Acupuncturist Practices Eastern Healing in Glen Head, NY

Glen Cove Patch does a bio on Adam Cantor, MS, L.Ac. and introduces Mind Body Medicine Acupuncture to Nassau County.

Read: http://glencove.patch.com/articles/acupuncturist-practices-eastern-healing-in-glen-head

More Evidence Acupuncture Can Ease Chronic Pain

(U.S. News- Health) When it comes to the relief of chronic pain, acupuncture is indeed effective, a sweeping review of previous research finds. The conclusion stems from a fresh analysis of initial raw data that had been collected by 29 studies previously conducted in Germany, Spain, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Collectively, these past investigations had involved nearly 18,000 patients.

"We looked at only the best-quality studies," said study author Andrew Vickers, an attending research methodologist and statistician at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City. "So I can say with confidence that what we found is the strongest evidence to date supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture."

The study appeared online Sept. 10 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Documentary Shows the Incredible Healing Power of Acupuncture

by Adam Cantor, MS, LAc

If you haven't already seen it, or for that matter even heard of the film 9000 Needles, you should watch this movie! It is a 2009 documentary about a champion bodybuilder, successful businessman, husband and father of three, and his family as they struggle to deal with the aftermath of his massively devastating stroke.

A sudden and massive bleed in his brain stem left Devin Dearth paralyzed on his right side, unable to walk with difficulty speaking, double vision and a complete inability to care for himself or his family. After Devin reached his maximum level of insurance coverage for stroke care, he returned home and rapidly began to weaken in the absence of therapy. In a desperate attempt to save Devin in the face of limited resources and dwindling options, his family brought him to the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital's stroke team (Tianjin, China). Months later, even though Devin needed the support of a cane and a little assistance coming down the stairs he walked out of that hospital!

This extremely touching and inspirational film won multiple awards and is a must see for anyone interested in the healing power of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. You can either purchase the film or learn about screenings here: http://www.9000needles.com/9,000_Needles/Welcome.html

Ancient Chinese Medicine and Mechanistic Evidence of Acupuncture Physiology

(National Institute of Health-- Edward S. Yang, Pei-Wen Li, Bernd Nilius, and Geng Li--Published online August 26, 2011) Acupuncture has been used in China from its very beginning some 2,500 years ago [26]. But it has been a puzzle for the West since it was brought back by the Jesuits in the 17th century. In its recent form, acupuncture became popular only after an unexpected treatment of a New York Times reporter in 1971. Since then, it has been widely deployed with clinical success for migraine, knee and back pain, chemo-induced nausea, vomiting and hot-flash among other aches and pains. Yet the typical Westerner, particularly the American doctor, is still looking at it with a suspicious eye. The main reason is the lack of a satisfactory scientific theory of its basic mechanism. Why can the little needle perform such a miracle without any help from drugs? How do the needle and the muscle interact? What is the driving force? Do tissues and cells know the needle is working in the neighborhood? What is its sphere of influence? How is it possible to produce the biochemical reaction that gives rise to pain suppression? Why are there no side effects? Why do the so-called sham, Korean, and Japanese acupuncture also work? Is it just a placebo effect? These are some pertinent questions people would like to have answered.

In the last four decades, a great deal of research in acupuncture has been performed [38]. This review plans to take a look at the basic mechanisms from its long history to find out how far we have come and what is still missing. A number of theoretical models have been proposed. The crucial questions to ask are whether the model is science based and reproducible, whether it covers the complete healing process, not just a part, and whether it conforms to the clinical and experimental data. These are exacting demands in order to arrive at a self-consistent explanation.

Acupuncture Physiology 101.

by Adam Cantor, MS, LAc

Acupuncture stimulation elicits De Qi, a grouping of complex and unique sensations that are essential for clinical efficacy according to numerous schools of Chinese medicine. While patients have described De Qi as a heavy, achey, or dull sensation, there is a lack of adequate scientific data to indicate what sensations really comprise this phenomena-- how intense these sensations are, how common they occur, their relationship to acupuncture points, the physiology of De Qi, and how this phenomena compares with other forms of somatosensory stimulus.

While some still argue that acupuncture doesn't elicit statistically significant research results beyond that of the placebo, we now know that this simply isn't true (read: Neurochemistry- Acupuncture vs Sham Acupuncture). One should consider that animals are not capable of demonstrating the placebo effect. Yet, interestingly enough, many vets use acupuncture as an effective means of pain management. It is also worth mentioning that the analgesic effects of acupuncture can be mitigated if a patient is on certain drugs (opioids and many SSRI's for example). Both of these facts support the verity that acupuncture achieves pain relief through physiological means.

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