Contemporary Medical Acupuncture and the Treatment of Pain

Pain is the most common cause for seeking medical attention, and the management of patients with pain is one of the most important problems in clinical practice. The neural (sensory, muscular, autonomic, neuro-immune and neuro-endocrine) components of the painful syndromes, which are not conveniently addressed by pharmacologic agents, can be treated by the methods of Contemporary Medical Acupuncture (CMA).

CMA is defined as a collect of techniques of peripheral neuromodulation. Its general purpose is to promote general health and to reduce the suffering caused by diseases, by means of interventions that at once relieve the pain and restore functional patterns. The immediate goals of the techniques are to produce long-term changes in nervous fibers and pathways.

Temporary implant and manipulation of acupuncture needles, electro-neuro-stimulation and injections of anesthetic agents in anatomically defined sites of the body are the main methods of CMA. The therapeutic effects begin in the site of the intervention, and develop along the nervous system. The spinal segment responses are crucial for the control of sensory, autonomic and motor disorders, and the encephalic structures of the central nervous system are responsible for the systemic effects of the peripheral neuromodulation.

Based upon biological and clinical evidences, Contemporary Medical Acupuncture became essential in any pain management program.