I know that acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can help with the symptoms and effects of Crohn’s disease as I have been personally using it for the last 4 years of my ten years that I have had the Diagnosis. A recent study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology has confirmed my experience in a recent randomized controlled trial that sought to treat active Crohn’s disease patients with acupuncture and moxibustion.
For those that do not know, Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract, all the way from mouth to anus. Most people however only experience a localized inflammation of the large and small intestines. Most people experience sharp pains, cramping, nausea, fatigue, loose stools or diarrhea, weight loss and malnutrition problems. There is no known cause, although a genetic link is suspected. There is no cure. Conventional treatment usually consists of expensive immune system suppressing drugs that are given through an IV every 4-8 weeks. Severe cases may have to have surgical treatments to remove parts of the intestines.
While Crohn’s disease is not recognized in Chinese medicine, the signs and symptoms are, and Chinese medicine has a variety of methods for treating Crohn’s, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, and dietary and lifestyle changes. These are what I have used in my life to help manage my symptoms.
In the recent study, researcher’s had a group of 92 patients that were randomly allocated into either a control group that received sham acupuncture (needling of non-acupuncture points) and wheat cake moxibustion or an experimental group that received acupuncture and moxibustion with an herbal partition. Moxibustion treatment consists of burning the herb Ai Ye, also known as Artemesia Vulgaris or Mugwort, above, near or on the skin. The burning herb is removed before any burns occur. The patients received acupuncture and moxibustion 3 times a week for 12 weeks and then were followed for 24 weeks after. Patients were evaluated with a Crohn’s Disease Activity Index, and blood counts of Hemoglobin, Erythrocytes, and C-Reactive Protein, all indicators of immune activity and Inflammation levels.
The researchers found that both groups had both subjective and objective improvement of symptoms during treatment and improved quality of life, but the experimental group showed statistically significantly greater improvements over the control group. In addition, during the follow up period, the control groups symptoms regressed while the results from the experimental group were maintained. In addition, the experimental group showed improved pathological levels as demonstrated by hemoglobin, erythrocyte counts and C-Reactive Protein levels and Crohn’s Disease Activity Score Index Levels.
Given these results, the researchers concluded that acupuncture and moxibustion was a safe and effective treatment for active Crohn’s disease.
This is great news for those with Crohn’s, and is just another demonstration of Chinese medicine’s effectiveness in treating digestive problems.
I have a personal passion about treating digestive problems and I love to help people with this because I know it works and it has changed my life for the better!’
If you or a loved one has Crohn’s or any other digestive problem, call or come in, I would love to talk with you and see how I can help with your problems!
If you would like to read a summary of the research study click here.
If you would like to learn more about Crohn’s Disease, check out the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America.