02 9231 3377

Acupuncture Sydney CBD/City
Call us now on 02 9231 3377

Conveniently located on Level 10,
The Dymocks Building,
428 George Street, Sydney CBD.

Stress Hormones

Stress and Acupuncture

Researchers have discovered that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for chronic stress.

This investigation is still in a preliminary stage since the treatment involved electroacupuncture on lab rats. Electroacupuncture involves running a light electrical current between two acupuncture needles whist they remain in situ. The acupoint used in this study was Stomach 36 (Zu San Li). This is located below the knee laterally adjacent to the anterior crest of the tibia.

The researchers claimed this treatment worked via the central regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and the prevention of elevations in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA).

This affect was only evident for the rats which received the electroacupuncture on ST36.  In contrast, another group of rats (in a control group) received electroacupuncture in a location on the body (of the rats), which is not known to be an acupoint (ie sham acupuncture). These rats did not demonstrate the same response. This therefore indicated the therapeutic benefit to be specific to the stimulation of the acupoint Stomach 36.

Research of this nature will no doubt one day lead to an improved understanding of the relationship between Chinese medical theory and our modern biochemical approach to medicine.

Reference:
Eshkevari, Ladan, Susan E. Mulroney, Rupert Egan, and Lixing Lao. “Effects of Acupuncture, RU-486 on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Chronically Stressed Adult Male Rats.” Endocrinology (2015): EN-2015.