Acupuncture, notes the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, is one of the world's oldest healing arts. The goal of acupuncture is to restore and maintain your body's health by using special needles to stimulate nerves that will maximize the flow of human energy, known as chi. Acupuncture has been proved to be effective in treating an array of maladies, and some studies indicate acupuncture may be useful in helping addicts through the difficult withdrawal period associated with giving up narcotics.
Heroin Addiction
An article appearing in the August 20, 2000 edition of the United Kingdom newspaper "The Guardian" details a project in which British heroin addicts were successfully treated with acupuncture to mitigate their withdrawal symptoms. According to Janine Scofield of the Sheffield-based Rockingham Project, which treated addicts with acupuncture, this form of treatment was successful not just in terms of assisting addicts come off heroin, but it also appeared to minimize the risk that they would relapse into drug use. In addition, Scofield noted that the cost of acupuncture was "tiny" when compared to the costs associated with traditional drug rehabilitation.
Detoxification
A study published in the September 1976 issue of the "Western Journal of Medicine" examined the effects of treatment on 18 heroin addicts who were treated with acupuncture, electrical stimulation and staplepuncture. Researchers found that treatment with acupuncture and electrical stimulation of nerves resulted in relieving withdrawal symptoms for approximately two hours after treatment. However, the study also noted that only one addict achieved complete detoxification via acupuncture, compared with 13 addicts treated with methadone and 10 treated with propoxyphene napsylate.
Biochemical Changes
A report published in a 1978 issue of "Bulletin of Narcotics" studied eight female heroin addicts who stopped using the drug and were treated with acupuncture and electrical stimulation. After this initial treatment, researchers found that the addicts' plasma ACTH, cortisol and c-AMP levels were reduced. The reduction of the subjects' c-AMP was the most significant, leading researchers to conclude that the suppression of these compounds may be associated with the temporary relief of withdrawal symptoms. As acupuncture and electrical stimulation appeared to suppress these compounds, these forms of treatment were seen to be effective in alleviating withdrawal symptoms.
Conflicting Research
On the other hand, a study published in the April 2009 issue of the "Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment" concluded that auricular acupuncture had no beneficial effects in minimizing withdrawal symptoms in addicts coming off heroin. The study attempted to verify earlier studies that indicated this form of acupuncture — in which needles stimulate nerves in the ears — could reduce the severity of opiate withdrawal symptoms and craving. Researchers concluded that auricular acupuncture, when augmenting standard methadone detoxification treatment, had no effect on the severity of withdrawal symptoms.
References
- "Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment"; Auricular Acupuncture as an Adjunct to Opiate Detoxification Treatment: Effects on Withdrawal Symptoms; J. Bearn, et al.; April 2009
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Acupuncture
- "Western Journal of Medicine"; Outpatient Heroin Detoxification with Acupuncture and Staplepuncture; Forrest S. Tennant; September 1976
- "Bulletin on Narcotis"; Acupuncture in Narcotic Withdrawal: A Preliminary Report on Biochemical Changes in the Blood and Urine of Heroin Addicts; H.L. Wen, et al.; April-June 1987
- "The Guardian"; Addicts Turn to Acupuncture for Heroin Cure; Ben Summerskill; Aug. 20, 2000
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