Great Question.  Great question indeed.

When modern western research science has difficulty fully explaining or quantifying something, that’s when I get interested.   That the way in which acupuncture delivers healing cannot be completely pinpointed is why some in the western medical community poo poo acupuncture and deem it quackery and a sham.

Let’s take a closer look and discuss a few of the ways in which western science has deemed that acupuncture delivers outstanding treatment results.

1. Micro Injury: This aspect of acupuncture treatment has to do with how the needle insertion creates a very very tiny injury to the skin, the muscle tissue and the surrounding soft tissues.  We  know that when our body is injured it immediately mobilizes an efficient healing response mechanism.  Like when you get a paper cut on your thumb, your skin heals over within seven days as if it never occurred.  So this theory proposes that the very very tiny injury of an acupuncture needle to the local area of pain mobilizes the body’s healing response to that site.  But this does not explain how acupuncture delivers a whole body healing mechanism.
2. The stimulation of the nervous system: The idea goes that inserting a very very fine needle or alternatively pressing with the hands or a blunt instrument, and even applying focused heat, all in some manner stimulate the nerves in the peripheral nervous system.  As was discussed in a previous post it was observed that this stimulation of one part of the body produced a healing response in another.  But how does this work?  Well there are nerve pathways throughout the body and along those pathways are points of particular importance.  You can think of the acu-points as sort of like relay stations on a power grid.  If one station on that grid goes out then the whole grid can go down, right?  This is a demonstration of the interconnectedness of the whole pathway.  If we apply healing stimulation to one of those “relay stations” or acu points then that transmission can be relayed to the central processing station, or in the case of acupuncture an Organ or organ system.
3. The engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system: Our central nervous system has two distinct modes the sympathetic also known as the “fight of flight” mode and the parasympathetic or what we like to call the “rest and digest”mode.  Even conventional western medicine is recognizing the broad systemic wide ill-effects that stress wreaks on the body.  Switching the body from the stress mode to the resting parasympathetic mode is the only way that we can engage our innate self healing mechanism.  Acupuncture very quickly, very deeply, and very completely brings the body into the parasympathetic mode.
4. The reduction of Inflammation:  A recent study was published that showed that the insertion of an acupuncture needle into the body produces a release of the chemical Adenosine at and around the local site of the needle insertion.  Adenosine is one of  many intrinsic substances that the body uses as an anti-inflammatory compound.  Adenosine provides protection to the cells, increases healing time, and aids tissue repair in response to injury.  Acupuncture needles have been proven to increase the levels of this chemical at the local site.
5. The improvement in blood circulation: The ancient  say that the Qi energy and the blood are intimately connected.  They say that the Qi “moves” or “pushes” the blood.  If we liken the Qi energy to nerve force we can conclude that the stronger the nerve force  the better the circulation of the blood is.  Clinically this can be observed, when a person has an impairment in the nerve impulse such as in the case of peripheral neuropathy.   There is a resulting impairment in the flow of blood.  That person will have cold feet or hands, right?  So if the acupuncture can improve the flow of nerve transmission then it can improve blood flow along with it.  With improved blood flow comes improved nutrient transport, removed waste, and improved healing.

These are only some of the ways that Acupuncture delivers outstanding healing results for all manner of physical disease and ailments.   In the years to come Western Laboratory Science will undoubtedly come to greater understanding as to the mechanisms by which this medical modality works.  With greater understanding greater acceptance by the western medical community will come as well.