Asthma Patients Breath Easier with Acupuncture
There may be very good news for asthma sufferers given the results of a test recently conducted by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing. This study showed that Acupuncture treatment could be used to significantly improve breathing ability.
The goal of the study was to determine if pulmonary (lung) function could be positively affected through Acupuncture treatment further affecting the portion of the nervous system that controls functions like the beating of the heart, digestion and breathing. This is known as the “vegetative nervous system.”
Seventy-one chronic asthma patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups for the purpose of the experiment. Both groups continued to receive their anti-asthmatic medicine. However, a group of 40 received Acupuncture treatments in addition to their medication while 31 made up the control group and received no Acupuncture.
The researchers were interested in noting both pulmonary function improvements as well as heart rate variability changes as a result of the Acupuncture. Both were tested at the start and conclusion of the study. What they learned was that both lung function and the function of the vegetative nervous system were “significantly superior to that in the control group after treatment.”
From the conclusions of the study, a person suffering from the effects f asthma may wish to consider the options provided through Acupuncture therapy when seeking relief. Acupuncture could offer significant improvement to the lungs and positively affect the function of the entire vegetative nervous system as well.