(02-06-12) How Chinese Medicine Strengthens Your Muscles

by Jeff Jurmain, MA

Probably the biggest thing Traditional Chinese Medicine has delivered to
Western cultures is acupuncture. Its ability to act as a healing force is
unmatched in how many conditions it is implied to help treat. Studies come
along constantly, and a new one holds great news for anyone who needs to
rejuvenate their muscles and improve mobility.

Last Monday, a team of researchers revealed at a major medical meeting that
acupuncture therapy mitigates skeletal muscle loss. This has big implications
for improving health among older adults and medical patients who have weakened
muscles.

In fact, they believe acupuncture is the main alternative treatment for
dealing with skeletal muscle atrophy. Atrophy is the partial or complete
wasting away of a part of the body.

RECOMMENDED: How to Reverse Aging Muscles Loss of muscle mass has a profound
effect on the ability of many people to engage in physical activity. One
preferred way to prevent atrophy is to use such interventions as exercise
training, improved nutrition and mechanical stimulation. But these can be quite
challenging for those who are already frail or who have severe medical
conditions.

The researchers strongly believe that an alternative approach is urgently
needed for these individuals. And that is why they decided to explore how
acupuncture affects skeletal muscle at the molecular level. And there, they
found very encouraging results.

We'll forgo the very technical language, but let's just say there are certain
ways that scientists can determine muscle mass and muscle structure. It was a
preliminary study, performed on mice, as is the norm, and it found that the
cellular changes that cause muscle loss could be "significantly reversed by
acupuncture."

What many don't know is that the World Health Organization has endorsed
acupuncture as a treatment for a variety of diseases. Yet many people (doctors
and patients, alike) regard it suspiciously. And researchers have not dipped
very much into understanding the molecular ways acupuncture works in the body.

The new study found one such molecular mechanism responsible for acupuncture's
effectiveness. It was found, in this case, very useful in preventing skeletal
muscle atrophy in mice. While more studies will be needed in the future to
address this link, older adults dealing with this health issue may find help in
the offices of a Chinese medicine practitioner or licensed and experienced
acupuncturist.

Source: "Japanese researchers show that acupuncture can improve
skeletal muscle atrophy," American Society for
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Apr. 23, 2012.

News

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In evidenza

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