Introduction
Human health is an important aspect of modern society and healthcare providers are constantly looking for better ways of treating patients. While modern medicine has advanced tremendously over the last few decades, medical professionals acknowledge that patients can benefit from non-conventional treatment. Alternative medicine can have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of a patient when used independently or to complement conventional medicine. One form of alternative medicine that has gained popularity in the US is acupuncture. This traditional Chinese procedure is presumed to help people with different diseases. This paper will discuss the positive effects of acupuncture in the health field, which include pain relief, help with quitting smoking and patients who suffer from obesity.
What is Acupuncture?
By definition, acupuncture is a traditional Chinese treatment that consists of penetrating the skin with thin needles at specific points of the body. This pricking with needles leads to the stimulation of anatomical points along meridians (National Institutes of Health, 2014). Acupuncture is a technique that originated in China and has spread over the centuries to other parts of the world..
The National Institutes of Health (2014) acknowledge that while millions of Americans utilize acupuncture annually, there is little scientific evidence to support how acupuncture works. In spite of lack of scientific evidence, there is a lot of proof that the technique offers therapeutic benefits to patients. Over the last few decades, acupuncture utilization in the US has been on an increase. The increase in acupuncture utilization is partly due to its relatively low cost. As an alternative treatment to contemporary medicine, many people are making use of this technique.
How Nurses View Acupuncture
Nurses play a crucial role in health care provision. They are primary healthcare providers and they act to ensure that patients exhibit improved health. Nurses also provide patients with information on treatment alternatives and offer their professional advice. As such, how nurses view acupuncture is crucial for the future success of this alternative treatment option. Fountouki and Theofanidis (2009) observe that there is a growing interest in complementary therapies among nurses. Nurses are moving away from the prevailing orthodox medical model and they are today more willing to make use of complementary therapies to provide holistic care to the patients. Complementary therapies often aim to treat the whole person. This is in line with the holistic nursing model which is defined as healing the whole person (Fountouki & Theofanidis, 2009). Many nurses are therefore adopting a favorable view to acupuncture since it promises to achieve overall health in the patient by enhancing the body’s natural healing abilities. Fountouki and Theofanidis (2009) document that if nurses are enthusiastic about complementary therapies such as acupuncture, the use of these alternatives can be expected to increase. More patients will therefore enjoy the potential benefits of acupuncture.
Benefits of Acupuncture
Pain relief for cancer patients
The acupuncture treatment offered to the terminally ill patients leads to an increase in their quality of life. Patients suffering from cancer have a number of symptoms that cause deterioration in their quality of life. These symptoms include pain, nausea, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. If not well managed, these symptoms cause patients to live in misery. A study by Lim, Wong, and Aung (2011) on the role of acupuncture in the palliative care for cancer patients showed that symptoms in patients were eased immediately after acupuncture. This alternative treatment works by relieving the patient’s patience. Acupuncture, when applied to patients with advanced incurable cancer, has a positive effect on all symptoms. Lim et al. (2011) support that acupuncture helps to manage pain and other symptoms in patients with cancer. Eshkevari (2003) explains that the acupuncture needles are inserted into the patient to clear the blocked channels of energy in the body and doing so provides relief from pain.
Use for smoking cessation
Research indicates that acupuncture can assist nicotine addicts in their smoking cessation efforts. Smoking is the number one cause of preventable deaths in the developed world, and in the US millions of people die annually from smoking related complications. The government has therefore invested heavily in programs aimed at helping people to quit smocking. Health care service providers have a number of treatment options aimed at assisting smokers in cessation. Bier, Wilson, Studt, and Shakleton (2002) state that acupuncture can assist in the treatment of problems of chemical dependency. Specifically, acupuncture assists in the reduction in the severity of the withdrawal symptoms that individuals addicted to tobacco undergo when they quit smoking.
Research by Bier et al. (2002) reveals that by using acupuncture and education, a cessation rate of up to 40% can be achieved among smokers who are attempting to quit. Acupuncture also contributes to the reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked by an individual. After being subjected to acupuncture treatment for a number of weeks, smokers demonstrated a significant decrease in the total number of cigarettes smoked. The reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day is important since the negative effect of tobacco on health increases with the number of cigarettes and the duration of time that a person smokes. A significant finding is that acupuncture treatment leads to the greatest decrease in cigarette use for those who have smoked for many years. Bier et al. (2002) note that this finding is significant since these group is at the greatest risk of developing smoking related-disease.
Use to help with obesity
Acupuncture can be used to help obese individuals tackle their weight issues. Obesity is a health issue that affects many people in the developed world. In the recent decades, the US has witnessed a phenomenal increase in the number of obese individuals. Obesity increases the risk of developing heart conditions and psychological issues such as depression. Considering these negative health impacts of obesity, helping obese individuals obtain a healthy weight is a priority for health care providers. A study by Sujung, Kang Sik, and Lim (2014) reveal that acupuncture can be used to effectively treat obesity.
Acupuncture leads to a reduction in the food intake of the patients therefore facilitating weight loss. Sujung et al. (2014) record that after 8 weeks of acupuncture treatment, a 6.1% reduction in BMI was found in the obese subjects. This demonstrates that acupuncture is effective for treating overweight people.
Low rate of adverse effects
Since the use of acupuncture to treat a variety of conditions is on the increase, it would be important to establish if this method is safe. There are a number of risks associated with this treatment. Some patients experience soreness and minor bleeding following acupuncture. In other cases, bruising or damage of organs might occur. The patients also face risk of infections if the needles used for the treatment are not sterilized. While these risks exist with acupuncture, their occurrence is rare. Park, Lee, Choi, Kim, and Choi (2010) state that if acupuncture treatment is administered by an experienced practitioner and the procedure is carried out in accordance with the established guidelines, there is a little risk of adverse events. Research indicates that there are no serious adverse effects associated with acupuncture and it is a safe treatment method. The risk of minor and major adverse events following acupuncture is minimal if the treatment is conducted by a professional (Park et al., 2010). From the positive results obtained from various surveys on the risks of acupuncture, it can be stated that the benefits of this treatment option outweigh its risks.
Conclusion
This paper discussed the positive effects of acupuncture in the health field. It began by defining acupuncture and highlighting that this treatment method consists of pricking the skin with thin needles. The paper then stated that many nurses are enthusiastic about this treatment option due to its holistic nature. The paper has discussed how acupuncture assists in pain relief, smoking cessation, and losing weight by obese individuals. A review of the adverse effects of acupuncture has also been made and a conclusion reached that the occurrence of the adverse events is minimal. It can therefore be stated that acupuncture is an effective treatment option for a wide range of health conditions and its usage should be increased in order for more people to enjoy its many health benefits.
References
Bier, I., Wilson, J., Studt, P., &Shakleton, M. (2002). Auricular acupuncture, education, and smoking cessation: a randomized, sham-controlled trial. American Journal of Public Health, 92(10), 1642-1647.
Eshkevari, L. (2003). Acupuncture and pain: a review of the literature. AANA Journal, 71(5), 361-370
Fountouki, A., & Theofanidis, D. (2009). Nurses’ attitudes towards complementary therapies. Health Science Journal, 3(3), 149-157.
Lim, J. W., Wong, E. T., & Aung, S. H. (2011). Is there a role for acupuncture in the symptom management of patients receiving palliative care for cancer? A pilot study of 20 patients comparing acupuncture with nurse-led supportive care. Acupuncture in Medicine, 29(3), 173-179.
National Institutes of Health (2014). Acupuncture: An Introduction. Web.
Park, J., Lee, M., Choi, J., Kim, B., & Choi, S. (2010). Adverse events associated with acupuncture: a prospective survey. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 16(9), 959-963. Web.
Sujung, Y., Kang Sik, K., & Lim, S. (2014). Randomised clinical trial of five ear acupuncture points for the treatment of overweight people. Acupuncture in Medicine, 32(2), 132-138.