Page 28 - CASA Bulletin of Anesthiology 2021, Vol 8, No. 6 (1)

CASA Bulletin of Anesthesiology

The role of Acupuncture in Pain Management

Lucy Chen M.D. Associate Professor
MGH Center for Translational Pain Research
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Chronic pain is a common medical problem. There are 25.3
million adults suffering from daily chronic pain in the United
States. Opioid therapy has been increasingly used to treat chronic
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pain conditions. However, the long-term use of opioids is
complicated by its side effect, tolerance, dependence, abuse and
opioid induced hyperalgesia. The increased complication and
death due to over dose associated to the opioid use, has led the
pain field to search for other medical treatment to manage chronic
pain.

Recent data have shown that approximately 38 percent of
U.S. adults and 12 percent of children use healthcare modalities that differ from conventional
medicine for medical treatment or overall health maintenance. In general, these non-
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conventional healthcare modalities are described in three terms: 1) Complementary Medicine
refers to using a non-conventional modality in combination with conventional medicine; 2)
Alternative Medicine refers to using a non-conventional modality in substitution of conventional
medicine; and 3) more recently, Integrative Medicine has been used to describe the combined
use of both conventional medicine and non-conventional modalities supported by at least some
evidence of their safety and effectiveness. Complementary and integrative medicine include a
variety of practices, which can be divided into five major categories based on the information
provided by the National Center of Complementary and integrative Health (see Table 1).
Currently, many medical schools in the United States have added a course of Integrative
medicine.

Table 1. Categories of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Alternative Medicine Homeopathic medicine, Naturopathic medicine, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese
Medicine (herbs, acupuncture, massage)

Mind-body Interventions Patient supporting groups, Cognitive-behavioral Therapy, Meditation, Mental
healing, Art/Music/Dance Therapies

Bio-product-based Therapies Herb products, Food/Vitamins, Dietary supplement, Natural products (e.g., shark
cartilage)
Manipulative Therapies Chiropractic manipulation, Osteopathic Manipulation, Massage

Energy- and Bio-field-based Pulse field, Magnetic field, Alternating current, Direct current, Qi gong, Reiki,
Therapies Therapeutic touch

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