Acupuncture for Stress
Stress, while a normal part of life, can severely impact our moods, days, and ability to function well in daily life. When stress becomes chronic, our mental and physical health may suffer as a result. While taking away or otherwise addressing stressors is perhaps the best way to ameliorate stress, when that isn’t an option, or when you’re feeling too stressed to find a solution, acupuncture may be able to help you return to a calm state.
Research supports the ability of acupuncture to help reduce stress in patients. One pilot study found that participants reported significant changes in their stress following acupuncture treatment. While they weren’t able to pinpoint a specific mechanism known in Western medicine for this change, they did note that there were reports of improvement for conditions other than stress following their acupuncture treatment.
One study found that acupuncture is safe, well-tolerated by patients, and induced a “positive effect on stress reductions as well as other health outcomes,” especially when compared with their control group, who went untreated for their high stress levels.
Another study looked at acupuncture treatment for a population of college students who reported high levels of stress. According to their data, participants reported a 45.8% improvement in their stress levels by the end of their treatment. They found that, “acupuncture may be successful in decreasing the perception of stress,” in their chosen population and that, “this effect persists for at least 3 months after the completion of treatment.”
Some researchers in Western medicine may have even found one of the physiological and biological mechanisms for how acupuncture is effectively able to relieve stress. Time.com reported on an acupuncture study performed on rats with chronic stress, which found that acupuncture lowered the levels of cortisol in their blood—the hormone that effects stress in our bodies and brains.
Data supports the ability of acupuncture to relieve stress, whether through providing a relaxing environment, or, as new data suggests, changing our bodies’ levels of stress-inducing hormones.
If you’re suffering from chronic stress, we would love to help you. Our providers have extensive experience treating stress and its related symptoms. We’re more than happy to work with you to develop a helpful treatment plan to get you feeling better and more relaxed. If you’re interested in learning more or would like help scheduling an appointment, please email us at info@loveacu.net or call our offices at (503) 343 9851.
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911. Do not wait for an appointment with us. We are happy to help with chronic or ongoing conditions; however, we are not equipped for or specialized in urgent or emergent care.
For Further Reading:
“An investigation into the effectiveness of traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA) for chronic stress in adults,” Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, Vol. 17 Issue 1; Huang et al., 2011.
“This May Be How Acupuncture Tamps Down Stress,” Time; Mandy Oaklander, 2015.