Acupuncture and Its Effects on Hypertension

Acupuncture and Its Effects on Hypertension

General Introduction

Acupuncture refers to the insertion of thin needles through the skin at strategic points on the body. Acupuncture originated in China. It was a Chinese traditional medicine. Acupuncture was used to treat pain. Generally, acupuncture has been used to maintain overall body wellness, including stress management. The traditional Chinese medicine describes acupuncture as a method to keep the body in balance in terms of energy flow known as the Chi (Chee) that flow in the meridians in the body. [1]Through the insertion of the needles along the meridians, the acupuncture practitioners believe that asserts that there will be energy flow in the body will balance[2]. However, western practitioners interpret acupuncture places as places where individuals go to get their muscles, nerves, and connective tissues stimulated. Other practitioners also believe that acupuncture boosts the body’s pain killers.

Introduction

Mostly, acupuncture has been used to treat complications such as postoperative nausea and vomiting, dental complications, forms of headaches, labor pains, neck pain, menstrual cramps, Osteoarthritis, hypertension, and respiratory disorders. In this paper, I am analyzing the effects of acupuncture on hypertension. Hypertension or high blood pressure refers to when the blood force pushing against the blood vessels is consistently higher than usual. For survival, the human tissues and other organs need oxygenated blood that is maintained through the circulatory system transporting blood throughout the body. As the heartbeats, it tends to create a pressure that pumps the blood through the blood vessels. The vessels include capillaries, arteries, and veins. The blood pressure is a result of two forces. The first one is the systolic forces that occur when the blood pumps out of the heart through the arteries. The second one becomes diastolic pressure, which takes place when the heart takes a rest in between the heartbeats. The high blood pressure escalates the workload of the heart and the vessels while reducing the efficiency of the heart and other organs. One way on how to normalize the blood pressure is by the use of acupuncture. Despite acupuncture being effective in reducing the high blood pressure, it had had some side effects on the body.

Background

According to Guideline 2017, for high blood pressure in adults, hypertension is one of the most common cardiovascular complications generally caused by high blood pressure, mostly in adults. Hypertension has affected over 900 million people worldwide. In the United States, over 63% of strokes and 47% of myocardial infections are believed to be caused by high blood pressure. The negative economic deviation caused by hypertension is a high burden for their families and patients. Through hypertension, there has been a reduction in socioeconomic development and social stability, which, in the long run, affects the social health structure. Currently, hypertension patients are encouraged to take the recommended drugs while watching their lifestyle. Despite the adherence to medicines and particular lifestyles, there hasn’t been much improvement in hypertension patients. The antihypertensive drugs can cause side effects such as frequent headaches, orthostatic hypotension, dizziness and the development of low libido. The adverse side effects have led to the limited use of antihypertensive drugs. Medical practitioners have recommended the use of non-pharmacological treatments in the management of hypertension. Several patients and researchers have started the use of non-pharmacological therapies, such as acupuncture. Acupuncture lowers the blood pressure which in turn reduces the antihypertensive dosage and the eradication of severe side effects of antihypertensive drugs. According to the current clinical studies, acupuncture has helped in lowering the blood pressure levels with its frequent application attracting a wider population. The international journal in ‘The Mechanism of Acupuncture in Treating Essential Hypertension: A Narrative Review’ identifies acupuncture as an ideal method to deal with hypertension-related complications. The journal asserts that the cost of dealing with hypertension is high. It has since drained the families and the patients[3]. They praise acupuncture as an ideal method to deal with the menace of high blood pressure in a way that does not attract heavy financial weights and which the poor can afford with fewer side effects on the body. Despite acupuncture, having positive outcomes, its mechanism in the facilitation is not well understood, and again it also has some side effects. The paper majorly analyses the effects of acupuncture on hypertension.

Methods

Search strategies

Literature searches for acupuncture were captured from Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), Cochrane Library, EMBASE, the PubMed, and Wan-fang Data. The study was conducted in china to retrieve a good number of trials of acupuncture for vital hypertension since only the Chinese have used the acupuncture method to the maximum making china a research destination. The current clinical trials were also included in the research. During the research, terms such as hypertension, high blood pressure, acupuncture and electro acupuncture remained key and the randomized controlled trials.

Inclusion criteria

Here the randomized controlled trials of all the patients considering their acupuncture were recorded in comparison to the modern drugs, lifestyle and the sham acupuncture of patients suffering from hypertension. Exclusion only came across when the studies were nonrandomized or if found holding other forms of acupuncture such as the laser acupuncture and nerve stimulation. The researched involved every population traits, dialect and the publication type. The blood pressure was the unifying factor.

The techniques involved included, selection bias, attrition bias, reporting, and detection bias and performance bias. The funnel plots were generated to envision the possible publication bias.

Data synthesis

Cochrane Collaboration provided Revman 5.1 software for data analyses.

Results

After primary searches from the databases, 1081 articles were screened. After reading the titles and abstracts, 976 articles of them were excluded. Full texts of 35 articles [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51], [52], [53], [54], [55], [56], [57], [58], [59], [60], [61], [62], [63], [64] were retrieved, and 70 articles were excluded with reasons listed as the following: participants did not meet the inclusive criteria (n = 34), duplication (n = 5), no control group (n = 10), Patients complicated with other diseases (n = 10) and no data for extraction (n = 11). In the long run all the CRTs were listed and trials measured from different countries. The methodological quality of the included trials was poor. The randomized allocation of participants was adopted in all trials however only 8 trials showcased the method for sequence generation. The testing acupuncture and controlled drug were in different forms, neither the participants nor the investigators were likely to be blinded.

Discussion

Hypertension remains a leading public health problem with severe medical and financial consequences. Medical interventions for those with severe hypertension generally have to use antihypertensive drugs such as diuretics, α- and β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and long-acting calcium-channel blockers. This is where acupuncture comes in I since it’s very cheap to afford with less side effects.  Based on the research, acupuncture successfully lowered the blood pressure. The combination of western drugs and acupuncture functioned better than administering only western medicine. Acupuncture also worked effectively more than the lifestyle that the people chose to avoid the diseases[4]. The observations confirmed the technique that using acupuncture could normalize the blood pressure. In conclusion, the research indicated that acupuncture could lower SBP and DBP. However, the trials were unclear in terms of methodological quality. Therefore, there is no certain conclusion on the efficacy and the adverse effects of acupuncture.

Methods

Body acupuncture

Body acupuncture involves the insertion of stainless needles into the various acupuncture body parts. It is the most commonly used method of acupuncture. Every acupuncture point offers a different therapy. The acupuncture points are inserted at strategic places from head to toe. The needles used are new with no rusts, and so the patient feels no pain during insertion. Body acupuncture has treated so many complications.

Electro acupuncture

Electro acupuncture is used hand in hand with the body acupuncture. Here when the needles have been strategically inserted in the body, they are then connected to an electro-acupuncture machine with the electric currents stimulating the needles. It’s a mind-blowing experience since the patient feels mild. Electro acupuncture treats many sicknesses, but not all patients are suitable.

Auricular acupuncture

The acupuncture point is in the ear. Traditional Chinese medicine believes the ear represents all body parts. Minute steel needles that are so fine in texture are inserted. The therapists may also use presser needles on an adhesive plaster and can stay on the ear for a period of even up to seven days. The traditional Chinese medicine used the method to fight complications such as the addiction to smoking and alcohol. The technique has also successfully treated infertility in conjunction with body acupuncture.

Acupressure

Here, the acupuncturist locates the acupuncture points, presses, or massages them. In the treatment of some conditions, the acupuncturist teaches the patient how to find different acupuncture points.  It helps the patient to treat some conditions themselves. Acupressure is mostly applied when the circumstances involve muscles, bones, and other cases, the painful complication. Acupressure has successfully treated morning sickness and frequent headaches.

Magnets and acupuncture

Magnets and acupuncture involve the use of small magnets that are placed on the acupuncture points. The magnets can also be attached to the acupuncture point through the use of elastic bands.  Currently, the elastic bands are available in most pharmacies across the world. The method has proven superiority over complications such as the morning and the motion sickness.

Moxibustion and acupuncture

Moxibustion involves the mounting of acupuncture needles on various acupuncture points. After the mounting, herbs are put on the mounted needles and lighted to burn gradually while the herb flows gently, facilitating a warming effect on the needle and the body[5]. The method has successfully treated complications resulting from cold weather conditions.

Heat treatment and acupuncture

Here the acupuncturist places heat lamps over the acupuncture needles. The heat lamp heats the needles downwards to the body point, which in the long run, achieves a warm therapeutic effect. The acupuncture has left a lot of patients with joy and greatly benefited them. The traditional Chinese medicine believes that acupuncture treats conditions resulting from sports injuries and damp conditions. The women have also praised the acupuncture method over their gynecological complications.

Cupping and acupuncture

Here the acupuncturist uses glass or a bamboo cup together with the acupuncture. A flame is lighted and gently placed in the bamboo cup. In setting the fire in the bamboo cup, the oxygen is burnt, which creates a vacuum effect. Without hesitation, the container is then placed on the acupuncture body area. The vacuum effect in the bamboo cup makes the cup to stick on the desired area[6]. The cup attaches to the body compared to the impact of super glue. Generally, the cupping method has some effects, such as body bruises and discoloration, where the cup was placed. The intention of the therapist with the vacuum cup is to suck blood to the skin surface. The cupping is usually not painful and mostly done on the covered areas such as the back and the thighs.  Cupping has proven successful over complications such as the stagnation of Qi and energy. The therapists apply some oil to the body and later drag the cup out.

References

Jang, medicine for premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder: systematic review.” BMC complementary and alternative medicine 14, no. 1 (2014): 11.

Leung, Alexander A., Stella S. Daskalopoulou, Kaberi Dasgupta, Kerry McBrien, Sonia Butalia, Kelly B. Zarnke, Kara Nerenberg et al. “Hypertension Canada’s 2017 guidelines for diagnosis, risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults.” Canadian Journal of Cardiology 33, no. 5 (2017): 557-576.

Sahin, Nilay, Emel Ozcan, Kasim Sezen, Omer Karatas, and Halim Issever. “Efficacy of acupunture in patients with chronic neck pain–a randomised, sham controlled trial.” Acupuncture & electro-therapeutics research 35, no. 1-2 (2010): 17-27.

Wang, Jie, and Xingjiang Xiong. “Control strategy on hypertension in Chinese medicine.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 (2012).

[2] Jang, medicine for premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder: systematic review.” BMC complementary and alternative medicine 14, no. 1 (2014): 11.

[3] Leung, Alexander A., Stella S. Daskalopoulou, Kaberi Dasgupta, Kerry McBrien, Sonia Butalia, Kelly B. Zarnke, Kara Nerenberg et al. “Hypertension Canada’s 2017 guidelines for diagnosis, risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults.” Canadian Journal of Cardiology 33, no. 5 (2017): 557-576.

[4] Wang, Jie, and Xingjiang Xiong. “Control strategy on hypertension in Chinese medicine.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 (2012).

[5] Leung, Alexander A., Stella S. Daskalopoulou, Kaberi Dasgupta, Kerry McBrien, Sonia Butalia, Kelly B. Zarnke, Kara Nerenberg et al. “Hypertension Canada’s 2017 guidelines for diagnosis, risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults.” Canadian Journal of Cardiology 33, no. 5 (2017): 557-576.

[6] Jang, medicine for premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder: systematic review.” BMC complementary and alternative medicine 14, no. 1 (2014): 11.