Acupuncture For Diabetic Neuropathy

With rapid advancements in medicine and science, new therapies and treatments have emerged, and now treating even the most grave disorders like cancer and heart disease has become easy. Diabetes is a condition affecting millions of people worldwide, and is among the most dreaded diseases due to its non-curable nature.

Diabetes cannot be treated, only controlled with the help of medications and other treatments. If not controlled, diabetes can cause many life threatening conditions like heart stroke, diabetic blindness and diabetic neuropathy. Read below to find out how acupuncture, a popular alternative medicine therapy, can help treat patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy.

How Acupuncture Helps Treat Diabetic Neuropathy

People suffering from diabetic neuropathy often complain of constantly experiencing a sensation of ‘pins and needles’ on their limbs, mostly their feet. This also causes difficulty in moving around, due to the uneasy feeling. Sometimes, these people also experience numbness and loss of sensation in their limbs. This can be controlled by use of medications, but more effectively by acupuncture.

Acupuncture principles rely on the fact that the body is a map of different acupoints or energy centers, which when in a state of imbalance, can cause disease. Pressing or stimulating these acupoints with a needle can bring about a positive change, regulate the flow of energies and also heal the body.

Source: http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0601/p2123.html

When an acupuncturist inserts the needles at the proper points, the imbalances of the body are removed and blockages in the energy channels are regulated. This is followed by the return of sensation to the limbs, and circulation of blood to that particular area is improved.

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Does It Work?

Many studies have shown that a 45 min acupuncture session for 2 weeks can work better than the use of conventional medicines for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. The acupoints on the foot, when stimulated, signals the brain to send more blood to that area.

Blood is a rich source of oxygen which keeps the organs healthy, and when it is allowed to flow to the numb area, it causes a positive change and returns back the sensation to the numb area. It also reduces the instances when the patient complains of the pins and needles sensation in the foot.

The Long Term Results Of Acupuncture Treatment

Most patients are fully cured before a month’s treatment of acupuncture. However, around 12% patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy have recorded a second visit within a year of receiving the treatment.

This, however, differs from person to person and is dependent on the type of diabetes the person suffers from and also upon the time duration for which the patient has suffered from diabetic neuropathy. Using acupuncture in conjunction with conventional medicine has bought about more benefits than using any of these therapies alone.

Acupuncture also helps remove any related conditions that may have occurred as a result of diabetes and diabetic neuropathy. Using acupuncture as a treatment option for diabetes is much more beneficial because it not only cures the condition itself, but also brings about an overall well-being of the individual.