Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterised by severe, disabling fatigue, and other symptoms such as musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbance, impaired concentration and headaches (Reid 2007).
The prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome has been estimated to be from 0.007% to 2.8% in the general adult population, and from 0.006% to 3.0% in primary care, depending on the criteria used (Afari 2003). Chronic fatigue syndrome imposes substantial economic costs on society, mainly in terms of informal care costs and lost employment (McCrone 2003).
How Acupuncture Can Help
In general, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurotransmitters. Stimulation of certain acupuncture points has been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for insomnia (Wu 1999).
Acupuncture may help to relieve symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome such as musculoskeletal pain, headache, sleep problems, tiredness and depression by:
- stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, which leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors, and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Pomeranz 1987, Zhao 2008).
- stimulating opiodergic neurons to increase the concentrations of beta-endorphin, so relieving pain (Cheng 2009).
- reducing inflammation, by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors (Kavoussi 2007, Zijlstra 2003).
- improving muscle stiffness and joint mobility by increasing local microcirculation (Komori 2009), which can reduce swelling and pain.
- reducing insomnia through increasing nocturnal endogenous melatonin secretion (Spence 2004).
