Acupunct Electrother Res. 1989 ; 14(2): 141-7.

An hypothesis for the prolonged effect of acupuncture.

Klide AM.

Dept. of Clinical Studies, Philadelphia School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania 19104-6010.

A comparison of acupuncture treatment methods, schedules, and results with the training methods, and results of the experiments involved in the training of various autonomic functions, shows many similarities. Both require a number of treatments or training sessions, both utilize a reward, and both produce an effect that lasts for a length of time after the last treatment or training session. From this information, it would appear that it is possible that the mechanism for the prolonged effect of acupuncture in treating chronic pain is that the repeated activation of the physiological systems by which acupuncture inhibits pain, by the repeated acupuncture treatments, trains the body to continue this activity and thereby maintains the pain relief for a period of time after the last treatment.