Acupuncture is effective in relieving all types of sinusitis, such as acute, chronic, allergic or infectious and allergic rhinitis (hay fever). Acupuncture treatment not only address the current congestion and inflammation but also boosting the immune system to prevent future attacks. The benefits of acupuncture in the case of sinusitis include improved taste and smell, unblock nasal congestion and reduce facial pain or headache.
There are many clinical trial proven that acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for allergic rhinitis (hayfever) and sinusitis. A study performed by RMIT university in 2015 concluded that a 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment is safe and beneficial for clinical management of Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) in Melbourne area for patients’ symptom relief. Acupuncture also has been found as effective as certain allergy medications in the recent journal publication by American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy.
One of the biological mechanisms that made acupuncture a great treatment for sinusitis and hayfever is its ability to modulate or decrease the releasing of cytokines which are immune system cell secretions, hence the reduce of the inflammation actions in the body. Another study also found a significant decrease of IgE as a result of acupuncture treatment for hayfever. IgE is an immunoglobulins or antibody which react to pollen, spores and animal fur, IgE levels often rise during allergic reactions. Besides, acupuncture also found to stimulate the production of IL-10, an interleukin that blocks histamine release from activated mast cells. These results indicate that acupuncture has an immuno-modulatory effect. All of the clinical trial studies that has been conducted over the years showed a strong and consistent evidence of acupuncture for sinusitis and hayfever which has favourable responses in immunologic outcomes.
The modern research helped us to understand how the ancient wisdom of acupuncture in treating modern diseases. The integration of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the level of knowledge of western medicine is only possible to a limited degree. Many of the proven therapeutic effects of acupuncture remain a challenge for modern science. Similar to western drug or medication, to achieve an effective result in treating a disease, prescribed dosage is very important. It is obvious that if less than the prescribed dose of medication is taken then it may not be effective. The same goes for acupuncture, if the treatment is spaced too far apart for a given condition then the desired result is less likely. I usually recommend having acupuncture treatment once or twice per week for 4 weeks as a starting point. However, it all depends on the severity of your condition, a thorough assessment is required at your first session.
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