Advice from the National Institutes of Health News

Acupuncture is a traditional medicine that’s been practiced in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years. Its proponents say it can do everything from relieving pain to bringing a general sense of wellness. Others think the only benefits you get from acupuncture are in your head. Recent studies have found that both sides may have a point. Acupuncture can be effective for certain health problems, such as some types of chronic pain. But how it works is something of a mystery.

Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific points in the body. The methods can vary, but the most well-known type in the United States is the insertion of thin metal needles through the skin. According to the latest estimates, at least 3 million adults nationwide use acupuncture every year.

Acupuncture is part of a family of procedures that originated in China. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the body contains a delicate balance of 2 opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang. Yin represents the cold, slow or passive principle. Yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. Health is achieved through balancing the 2. The disease comes from an imbalance that leads to a blockage in the flow of qi—the vital energy or life force thought to regulate your spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health. Acupuncture is intended to remove blockages in the flow of qi and restore and maintain health.

Researchers don’t know how these ideas translate to our Western understanding of medicine, explains Dr. Richard L. Nahin of NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. But the fact is that many well-designed studies have found that acupuncture can help with certain conditions, such as back pain, knee pain, headaches, and osteoarthritis.

David M. Eisenberg, MD, is the Director of Culinary Nutrition at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Executive Director of the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, and Founding Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2000-2010).

David M. Eisenberg, MD, is the director of culinary nutrition and adjunct associate professor of nutrition at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Eisenberg served as the Bernard Osher Distinguished Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, founding director of the Osher Research Center, and the founding chief of the Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Harvard Medical School. In 1979, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, David served as the first U.S. medical exchange student to the People’s Republic of China. In 1993, he was the medical advisor to the PBS Series, Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers. He has served as an advisor to the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federation of State Medical Boards with regard to complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine research, education, and policy. From 2003-to 2005 David served on a National Academy of Sciences Committee responsible for the Institute of Medicine report entitled, ―The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by the American Public.

David M. Eisenberg Biography David M Eisenberg | Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School
Resources:
Unconventional Medicine in the United States — Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use | NEJM
Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997: results of a follow-up national survey – PubMed (nih.gov)

Watch the Six-Part Interview with
Dr. David Eisenberg in the lead-up to the Osher Center’s 20th Anniversary Symposium on May 17, 2022. 
Stay tuned for the final interview with Professor Ted Kaptchuk, founding faculty member, and watch the previous installment of interview clips with Dr. Helene Langevin on our Osher YouTube Channel.

Each person’s “healthiest self” is different. We have different bodies, minds, living situations, and people influencing our lives. Each area can impact your overall health. This means we each have a unique set of health needs. Use these wellness toolkits developed by the National Institutes of Health, to find ways to improve your well-being in any area you’d like.

Whole person health involves looking at the whole person—not just separate organs or body systems—and considering multiple factors that promote either health or disease. It means helping and empowering individuals, families, communities, and populations to improve their health in multiple interconnected biological, behavioral, social, and environmental areas. Instead of treating a specific disease, whole-person health focuses on restoring health, promoting resilience, and preventing diseases across the lifespan.

Your Healthiest Self: Wellness Toolkits offer science-based health tips in five different areas. Learn simple ways to prevent disease. Find tips to improve your relationships, emotional and physical well-being, and surroundings. 

Learn more about how each of the following domains offer opportunities to improve your health and well-being

• Your Surroundings
• Your Feelings
• Your Body
• Your Relationships
• Your Disease Defense

According to a growing body of research, listening to or making music affects the brain in ways that may help promote health and manage disease symptoms. 

Performing or listening to music activates a variety of structures in the brain that are involved in thinking, sensation, movement, and emotion. These brain effects may have physical and psychological benefits. 

Increasing evidence suggests that music-based interventions may be helpful for health conditions that occur during childhood, adulthood, or aging. However, because much of the research on music-based interventions is preliminary, few definite conclusions about their effects have been reached. The preliminary research that has been done so far suggests that music-based interventions may be helpful for anxiety, depressive symptoms, and pain associated with a variety of health conditions, as well as for some other symptoms associated with dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions. 

Six things you need to know about music and health:

1. Preliminary research suggests that music-based interventions may be helpful for anxiety, depressive symptoms, and pain associated with a variety of health conditions. 
2. Music-based interventions may reduce depressive symptoms and improve emotional well-being and quality of life in people with cognitive impairment or various types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, it’s unclear whether music can improve cognitive function.
3. Several types of music-based interventions may be helpful for people with Parkinson’s disease. For example, an intervention that involves synchronizing movement to a rhythmic sound may help people with Parkinson’s disease walk better, and singing may help them improve their speech.
4. Several studies suggest that various types of music-based interventions may be beneficial for coordination, balance, some aspects of gait and walking, emotional status, and pain in people with multiple sclerosis.
5. Although music has shown promise for many health-related uses, not all findings on music-based interventions are positive. For example, studies of music-based interventions for sleep problems and for symptoms of autism spectrum disorder have had mixed results. 
6. People may think of music as safe, but that isn’t always true. For example, listening to music at too high a volume can contribute to noise-induced hearing loss.

What Does the Research Show? Read More about Music and Pain Relief as well as many other health problems

Tai Chi and Qigong are health exercises that evolved over centuries in China to allow people to defend themselves against frailty, disability, and disease as well as barbarians. This Saturday, April 29th is World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. This event has been officially proclaimed, recognized, or supported by 22 US Governors; Senates of Puerto Rico, California, New York; the Brazilian National Congress; consulates, and embassies from Italy to the U.S., China to India, and by government ministries and bodies in countries worldwide. Events have been held at the United Nations Building and the Nobel Peace Center.

Ukraine has been a regular participant in World Tai Chi and Qigong day in years past and many schools around the world are using the event this year to raise money to support the humanitarian efforts to help Ukraine. https://www.worldtaichiday.org/Event_Gallery/ukraine.html

Here are a few examples of how Tai Chi can be used to improve your own health.

• Tai Chi Improves Aerobic Capacity
• Improves Balance and Reduces Falls
• Relieves low-back pain
• Relieves fibromyalgia
• Relieves knee osteoarthritis
• Improves COPD,
• Relieves Parkinson’s
• Controls Diabetes
• Lowers Blood Pressure

Read more about the scientific studies that support these results