Research in China has tried to ascertain the mechanisms behind how acupuncture treats hypertension. Patients with high blood pressure were examined by functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and certain acupuncture point prescriptions were found to activate areas in the brain connected with blood pressure regulation. One combination of acupuncture points was associated with positive immediate and long-term effects on blood pressure, particularly systolic blood pressure.
(Acupuncture at LR3 and KI3 shows a control effect on essential hypertension and targeted action on cerebral regions related to blood pressure reactivagulation: a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Acupuncture in Medicine, February 2021.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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