Acupuncture Hernia Treatment

In United States, acupuncture has become successfully incorporated into various medical practices. Recently conventional medicine has integrated acupuncture treatments to manage hernia symptoms and potential herniorrhaphy complications.

Hernia

• Hernia is a condition characterized by the protrusion of an organ or tissue out of the body cavity where it normally lies. Symptoms include visible or palpable lump and pain on the site.

Acupuncture on Hernia

• While hernia can only be corrected by herniorrhaphy (corrective hernia surgery), acupuncture hernia treatment is seen as an effective solution to alleviating hernia symptoms and herniorrhaphy complications in limiting the use of anesthetic or pain-killing drugs.

Background

• A case report accomplished by Denise McKee, MD and Holly Rooney, MD on the effect of acupuncture on the post-herniorrhaphy pain of a 42-year old patient illustrated acupuncture’s ability to effectively reduce and gradually eliminate the need for Naproxen, a pain relief drug.

How it Works

• Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that hernia results from blocked meridians, the pathways in which energy flow within the body. Using the traditional Chinese physiology and concepts of energy circulation, acupuncture needles are inserted on a specified location where energy circulation will be stimulated, thereby relieving hernia symptoms.

Benefits

• Performing this dry needle form of electrical stimulation throughout herniorrhaphy procedure delivers analgesic effects on the patient, minimizing the volumes of anesthetic drug (lidocaine) required by the patient.

Number of Treatments Required

• In the case study filed by Denise McKee, MD and Holly Rooney, MD, their subject patient have shown positive results after receiving 5 acupuncture treatments for 4 consecutive months. However, treatment frequency depends on the severity of the patient’s condition and his response to treatment.