Acupuncture's painkilling secret

NEWS LESSONS / Acupuncture’s painkilling secret: it’s all in the twist action / Advanced•P

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Acupuncture’s painkilling secret: it’s all in the twist actionLevel 3 Advanced

Find the key words in the text and write them next to their meanings. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.

animal feet that are painful or uncomfortable _______________________ (two words, para 3)1.

made something happen _______________________ (para 4)2.

something that reduces inflammation _______________________ (para 4)3.

having doubts about something that other people think is true or right _______________________ (para 6)4.

to make something less painful, severe or serious _______________________ (para 7)5.

to make a problem become worse _______________________ (para 7)6.

a substance that is not medicine but that a patient who is taking it believes is medicine, and so gets 7. better _______________________ (para 7)

prevented something from happening or progressing normally _______________________ (para 8)8.

nerves, for example in your skin, that send messages to your central nervous system 9. _______________________ (para 10)

moved in a circle around a fixed central point _______________________ (para 11)10.

Key words2

Warmer1In one minute, write down as many words as you can that are related to acupuncture.

Then quickly skim the text to find out how many of your words are mentioned.


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Acupuncture’s painkilling secret: it’s all in the twist actionLevel 3 Advanced

Acupuncture’s painkilling secret revealed: it’s all in the twist actionIan Sample, science correspondent 31 May, 2010

Ever since Chinese doctors first poked their patients with sharp objects 4,000 years ago and charged them for the pleasure, acupuncture has been shrouded in mystery.

Tradition has it that the procedure works by improving the flow of qi along invisible energy channels called meridians, but research published today points to a less mystical explanation for the painkilling claims of acupuncture.

The answer, according to a team of scientists in New York, follows an extraordinary study in which researchers gave regular acupuncture sessions to mice with sore paws.

After each half-hour session the mice felt less discomfort in their paws because the needles triggered the release of a natural painkiller, the researchers say. The needles caused tissue damage that stimulated cells to produce adenosine, an anti-inflammatory chemical, that was effective for up to an hour after the therapy was over.

Modern acupuncture involves inserting fine needles into the skin at specific points around the body. The needles are pushed in a few millimetres and then heated, twisted or even electrified to produce their claimed medical effects.

Acupuncture has spread around the world since originating in China, but conventional western medicine has remained steadfastly sceptical. Although there is now good evidence that acupuncture can relieve pain, many of the other health benefits acupuncturists claim are on shakier ground.

The latest research gives doctors a sound explanation of how sticking needles into the skin can alleviate, rather than exacerbate, pain. The discovery will challenge the view, widely held among scientists, that any benefits a patient feels after acupuncture are due purely to the placebo effect.

“The view that acupuncture has little benefit beyond the placebo effect has really hampered research into the technique,” said Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester medical centre in New York state, who led the study.

“Some people think any work in this area is junk research, but I think that’s wrong. I was really surprised at the arrogance of some of my colleagues. We can benefit from what has been learned over many thousands of years,” Nedergaard said. “I believe we’ve found the main mechanism by which acupuncture relieves pain. Adenosine is a very potent anti-inflammatory compound and most chronic pain is caused by inflammation.”

The scientists gave each mouse a sore paw by injecting it with an inflammatory chemical. Half of the mice lacked a gene that is needed to make adenosine receptors, which are found on major nerves.

The therapy session involved inserting a fine needle into an acupuncture point in the knee above each mouse’s sore foot. In keeping with traditional practice, the needles were rotated periodically throughout the half-hour session.

To measure how effective the acupuncture was, the researchers recorded how quickly each mouse pulled its sore paw away from a small, bristly brush. The more pain the mice were in, the faster they pulled away.

Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Nedergaard’s team describes how acupuncture reduced pain by two-thirds in normal mice, but had no effect on the discomfort of mice that lacked the adenosine receptor gene. Without adenosine receptors, the mice were unable to respond to the adenosine released when cells were damaged by acupuncture needles.

Acupuncture had no effect in either group of mice if the needles were not rotated, suggesting that the tissues had to be physically damaged to release adenosine. Nedergaard said that twisting the needles seems to cause enough damage to make cells release the painkilling chemical.

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Acupuncture’s painkilling secret: it’s all in the twist action Level 3 Advanced

Make notes about the experiment described in the article. Use the passive form in your notes about the stages.

The experiment:

Purpose of the experiment:

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Conclusions of the experiment:

1.

2.

This is then picked up by adenosine receptors on nearby nerves, which react by damping down pain. Further tests on the mice revealed that levels of adenosine increased 24-times in the tissues around the acupuncture needles during and immediately after each session.

One of the longstanding mysteries surrounding acupuncture is why the technique only seems to alleviate pain if needles are inserted at specific points. Nedergaard believes that most of these acupuncture points are along major nerve tracks and, as such, are parts of the body that have plenty of adenosine receptors.

“There is an attitude among some researchers that studying alternative medicine is unfashionable,” said Nedergaard. “Because

it has not been understood completely, many people have remained sceptical.”

Although the study explains how acupuncture can alleviate pain, it does not explain the other health benefits that some practitioners believe the procedure can achieve. Josephine Briggs, the director of the national centre for complementary and alternative medicine at the US National Institutes of Health, said, “It’s clear that acupuncture may activate a number of different mechanisms … It’s an interesting contribution to our growing understanding of acupuncture.”

© Guardian News & Media 2010First published in The Guardian, 31/05/2010

Comprehension check: Describing a process3

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Webquest6Look on the internet for acupuncturists in your area/country. What services do they offer? What are their fees?

Watch a video and read more about acupuncture on these websites:

The British Acupuncture Councilhttp://www.acupuncture.org.uk/index.php(This website includes an excellent short video introduction to acupuncture.)

The American Academy of Medical Acupuncturehttp://www.medicalacupuncture.org/

Language: Therapies and practitioners4Complete the table with the names of the practitioners trained in each therapy. You may use a dictionary or the internet.

name of therapy name of practitioner1. acupuncture2. phytotherapy (herbalism)3. homeopathy4. massage5. reflexology6. aromatherapy7. hypnosis8. naturopathy9. chiropractic

Discussion5Which of the therapies and treatments above are available in your country/area?Does your health insurance cover the cost of any of them?Which of the above practitioners would you consider going to?

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2 Key words

sore paws1. triggered2. anti-inflammatory3. sceptical4. alleviate5. exacerbate6. placebo 7. hampered8. receptors9. rotated10.

Teacher’s notes

Adenosine Adenosine plays an important role in biochemical processes, such as energy transfer, as well as in signal transduction. It is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter. (www.wikipedia.com)

3 Comprehension check: Describing a process

Purpose of the experiment: to check the painkilling claims of acupuncture

Stage 1: Mice were given sore paws by scientists who injected them with an inflammatory chemical. Half the mice lacked a gene that is needed to make adenosine receptors. Stage 2: Fine needles were then inserted into an acupuncture point above each mouse’s sore paw. The needles were rotated periodically. Stage 3: To measure how effective the acupuncture was, the researchers recorded how quickly each mouse pulled its sore paw away from a small, bristly brush.

Conclusions of the experiment: 1. The scientists discovered that acupuncture reduced pain by two-thirds in normal mice, but had no effect

on the discomfort of mice that lacked the adenosine receptor gene. 2. Acupuncture had no effect in either group of mice if the needles were not rotated. This suggested that the tissues had to be physically damaged to release adenosine.

4 Language: Therapies and practitioners

name of therapy name of practitioner1. acupuncture acupuncturist2. phytotherapy

(herbalism)phytotherapist / herbalist

3. homeopathy homeopath / homeopathic practitioner

4. massage masseur5. reflexology reflexologist6. aromatherapy aromatherapist7. hypnosis hypnotist

8. naturopathy naturopath / naturopathic practitionerer

9. chiropractic chiropractor

KEY

Acupuncture's painkilling secret

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