Chronic pain seriously affects physical and mental health and is the main source of human suffering and disability and is a major public health problem worldwide, affecting 28% of adults worldwide and approximately 20% of Americans with moderate to severe chronic pain. Due to its complex pathophysiology, chronic pain is often combined with anxiety, depression, insomnia and other mental illnesses, making pharmacological treatment ineffective. Opioids have serious side effects, including respiratory depression, tolerance, physiological dependence, and increased mortality due to accidental overdose and cardiovascular adverse events.
Acupuncture, the most popular complementary alternative therapy, has been widely used to treat various types of pain. There is abundant evidence that acupuncture can relieve nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain, and may lead to a reduction in opioid use. A high-quality clinical study has found that among patients with migraine without aura, true acupuncture (TA) may be associated with a long-term reduction in migraine recurrence compared with sham acupuncture (SA) or assignment to a waiting list. The development of neuroimaging techniques has also provided new methods for the study of the central mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia. For example, it was reported that acupuncture can achieve its therapeutic effect on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain by modulating functional connectivity between the right frontoparietal network, the executive control network (ECN), and the descending pain modulatory pathway.
This study was based on the WOS database and a comprehensive analysis of studies on acupuncture for chronic pain from 2011 to 2022 was performed using bibliometric methods. The main findings are as follows: Current research on acupuncture for chronic pain is developing rapidly. China is the main producer, with essential contributions from the United States, Korea and England, but collaboration between countries still needs to be strengthened. Keyword cluster analysis showed that neuropathic pain, KOA and chronic low back pain were diseases hot topics, and acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, and bee venom acupuncture were the primary interventions. Through burst analysis, neuroimaging studies, anxiety and depression were found to be the frontiers of research in acupuncture for chronic pain.
Acupuncture is recommended for the treatment of 77 diseases. And 16 of these diseases are related to inflammatory pain. As a combination of traditional acupuncture and modern electrotherapy, electroacupuncture (EA) has satisfactory analgesic effects on various acute and chronic pains. Due to its good analgesic effects and lack of side effects, acupuncture has been widely accepted throughout the world. The mechanisms of action on inflammatory pain from two levels: peripheral and central. Includes the mechanisms of acupuncture in the periphery (immune cells and neurons, purinergic pathway, nociceptive ion channel, cannabinoid receptor and endogenous opioid peptide system) and central nervous system (TPRV1, glutamate and its receptors, glial cells, GABAergic interneurons and signaling molecules). ). In this review, recent relevant studies are compiled to systematically explain the mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of inflammatory pain.
Strontium has also been shown to be effective in treating chronic pain.
Strontium is a mineral similar to calcium that is sold OTC as a nutritional supplement. (Dr Mercola even sells it.)
The first doctor to use strontium to treat pain was Dr Alwens. He was very respected doctor and an associate of Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Paul Ehrlich. In 1924, he reported very impressive results using strontium and was able to eliminate the need for morphine in most patients. (Parkinson's disease pain, encephalitis, arthritis, phantom stump pain from an amputated leg, and pain from other conditions.)
In the early 2000's, a few pharmaceutical companies came out with various patented forms of strontium and a number of phase II trials were even carried out. However, these projects were abandoned for unknown reasons.
Strontium seems to act like a nutrient, with numerous benefits and very few side effects, even at very high pharmaceutical doses.
Chronic pain seriously affects physical and mental health and is the main source of human suffering and disability and is a major public health problem worldwide, affecting 28% of adults worldwide and approximately 20% of Americans with moderate to severe chronic pain. Due to its complex pathophysiology, chronic pain is often combined with anxiety, depression, insomnia and other mental illnesses, making pharmacological treatment ineffective. Opioids have serious side effects, including respiratory depression, tolerance, physiological dependence, and increased mortality due to accidental overdose and cardiovascular adverse events.
Acupuncture, the most popular complementary alternative therapy, has been widely used to treat various types of pain. There is abundant evidence that acupuncture can relieve nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain, and may lead to a reduction in opioid use. A high-quality clinical study has found that among patients with migraine without aura, true acupuncture (TA) may be associated with a long-term reduction in migraine recurrence compared with sham acupuncture (SA) or assignment to a waiting list. The development of neuroimaging techniques has also provided new methods for the study of the central mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia. For example, it was reported that acupuncture can achieve its therapeutic effect on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain by modulating functional connectivity between the right frontoparietal network, the executive control network (ECN), and the descending pain modulatory pathway.
This study was based on the WOS database and a comprehensive analysis of studies on acupuncture for chronic pain from 2011 to 2022 was performed using bibliometric methods. The main findings are as follows: Current research on acupuncture for chronic pain is developing rapidly. China is the main producer, with essential contributions from the United States, Korea and England, but collaboration between countries still needs to be strengthened. Keyword cluster analysis showed that neuropathic pain, KOA and chronic low back pain were diseases hot topics, and acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, and bee venom acupuncture were the primary interventions. Through burst analysis, neuroimaging studies, anxiety and depression were found to be the frontiers of research in acupuncture for chronic pain.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096522992300002X (2023).---
Acupuncture is recommended for the treatment of 77 diseases. And 16 of these diseases are related to inflammatory pain. As a combination of traditional acupuncture and modern electrotherapy, electroacupuncture (EA) has satisfactory analgesic effects on various acute and chronic pains. Due to its good analgesic effects and lack of side effects, acupuncture has been widely accepted throughout the world. The mechanisms of action on inflammatory pain from two levels: peripheral and central. Includes the mechanisms of acupuncture in the periphery (immune cells and neurons, purinergic pathway, nociceptive ion channel, cannabinoid receptor and endogenous opioid peptide system) and central nervous system (TPRV1, glutamate and its receptors, glial cells, GABAergic interneurons and signaling molecules). ). In this review, recent relevant studies are compiled to systematically explain the mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of inflammatory pain.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17448069231202882 (2023).--
Strontium has also been shown to be effective in treating chronic pain.
Strontium is a mineral similar to calcium that is sold OTC as a nutritional supplement. (Dr Mercola even sells it.)
The first doctor to use strontium to treat pain was Dr Alwens. He was very respected doctor and an associate of Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Paul Ehrlich. In 1924, he reported very impressive results using strontium and was able to eliminate the need for morphine in most patients. (Parkinson's disease pain, encephalitis, arthritis, phantom stump pain from an amputated leg, and pain from other conditions.)
In the early 2000's, a few pharmaceutical companies came out with various patented forms of strontium and a number of phase II trials were even carried out. However, these projects were abandoned for unknown reasons.
Strontium seems to act like a nutrient, with numerous benefits and very few side effects, even at very high pharmaceutical doses.
For more info, read my Substack post here. https://joeanstett.substack.com/p/your-nerves-on-strontium-part-1