Science of acupuncture; measuring autonomic and endocrine health benefits of acupuncture therapy

2^nd International Conference and Expo on Holistic Medicine and Nursing

August 14-15, 2017 Toronto, Canada

Joe Durant

Center for Pain and Stress Research Ltd, Canada

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Altern Integr Med

Abstract :

It is widely accepted in science that imbalances of the parasympathetic (rest/healing/calming) and sympathetic (flight/fight/ stress) branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) called stress are directly linked to wide variety of pain and disease. The sympathetic system is designed for short term survival creating a cascade of neurophysiological responses. However, it is upregulation or persistent tone (stress) in this system, that is believed to be related to chronic pain, disease and the impediment of patient health. Real time analysis of sympathetic upregulation may be now accurately measured in two ways, heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol levels. This lecture will report findings of microcurrent point stimulation applied non-invasively to battlefield acupuncture (BFA) protocol on nervous system regulation and stress reduction. The autonomic nervous system response to MPS applied to BFA protocol reflected a statistically significant pre-post improvement in seven of the 29 markers collected: pain on the VAS scale was reduced by 63%, heart rate variability (HRV) improved by 42%, high frequency-vagal tone improved by 56%, exercise tolerance increased by 22%, parasympathetic activity improved by 38%, stress reduced by 27%, PTGi cardiac marker of endothelial function, arterial blood flow and autonomic nervous system regulation improved by 48% and cardiac marker PTGVLFi - an autonomic Nervous System regulation marker of endothelial function and an indicator of �² cell activity had a reduction of 36%, salivary cortisol decreased by 14%, but was not statistically significant. This evidenced-based lecture will explore the relationship between acupuncture therapies, HRV, cortisol stress levels, and their influence on exercise tolerance and pain management in the clinical setting.

Biography :

Joe Durant has completed his BA on Psychology and Massage before focusing on pain management, where for 20 years he has dedicated his life to improving the lives of others suffering from pain. He has published in several prestigious journals and instructed Post-graduate continuing education integrative pain management for over 15 years.