Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism
Radicular pain, a common and complex form of neuropathic pain, presents significant challenges in treatment. Acupuncture, a therapy originating from ancient traditional Chinese medicine and widely utilized for various pain types, including radicular pain, has shown promising outcomes in the manageme...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2024.1332876/full |
| _version_ | 1797244983389978624 |
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| author | Hong-Lin Li Yi Zhang Jian-Wei Zhou |
| author_facet | Hong-Lin Li Yi Zhang Jian-Wei Zhou |
| author_sort | Hong-Lin Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Radicular pain, a common and complex form of neuropathic pain, presents significant challenges in treatment. Acupuncture, a therapy originating from ancient traditional Chinese medicine and widely utilized for various pain types, including radicular pain, has shown promising outcomes in the management of lumbar radicular pain, cervical radicular pain, and radicular pain due to spinal stenosis. Despite its efficacy, the exact mechanisms through which acupuncture achieves analgesia are not fully elucidated and are the subject of ongoing research. This review sheds light on the current understanding of the analgesic mechanisms of acupuncture for radicular pain, offering valuable perspectives for both clinical application and basic scientific research. Acupuncture is postulated to relieve radicular pain by several mechanisms: peripherally, it reduces muscle spasms, lessens mechanical pressure on nerve roots, and improves microcirculation; at the molecular level, it inhibits the HMGB1/RAGE and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathways, thereby decreasing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines; within the spinal cord, it influences synaptic plasticity; and centrally, it modulates brain function, particularly affecting the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and thalamus within the default mode network. By acting across these diverse biological domains, acupuncture presents an effective treatment modality for radicular pain, and deepening our understanding of the underlying mechanisms regarding analgesia for radicular pain is crucial for enhancing its clinical efficacy and advancement in pain management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:19:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6abc7fa8dea741c5823910eb157e0018 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5099 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:19:40Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-6abc7fa8dea741c5823910eb157e00182024-03-26T04:19:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience1662-50992024-03-011710.3389/fnmol.2024.13328761332876Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanismHong-Lin Li0Yi Zhang1Jian-Wei Zhou2School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, ChinaSchool of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, ChinaAcademy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaRadicular pain, a common and complex form of neuropathic pain, presents significant challenges in treatment. Acupuncture, a therapy originating from ancient traditional Chinese medicine and widely utilized for various pain types, including radicular pain, has shown promising outcomes in the management of lumbar radicular pain, cervical radicular pain, and radicular pain due to spinal stenosis. Despite its efficacy, the exact mechanisms through which acupuncture achieves analgesia are not fully elucidated and are the subject of ongoing research. This review sheds light on the current understanding of the analgesic mechanisms of acupuncture for radicular pain, offering valuable perspectives for both clinical application and basic scientific research. Acupuncture is postulated to relieve radicular pain by several mechanisms: peripherally, it reduces muscle spasms, lessens mechanical pressure on nerve roots, and improves microcirculation; at the molecular level, it inhibits the HMGB1/RAGE and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathways, thereby decreasing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines; within the spinal cord, it influences synaptic plasticity; and centrally, it modulates brain function, particularly affecting the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and thalamus within the default mode network. By acting across these diverse biological domains, acupuncture presents an effective treatment modality for radicular pain, and deepening our understanding of the underlying mechanisms regarding analgesia for radicular pain is crucial for enhancing its clinical efficacy and advancement in pain management.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2024.1332876/fullradicular painacupuncturemechanical compressioninflammationspinal cord synapsesbrain function |
| spellingShingle | Hong-Lin Li Yi Zhang Jian-Wei Zhou Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience radicular pain acupuncture mechanical compression inflammation spinal cord synapses brain function |
| title | Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism |
| title_full | Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism |
| title_fullStr | Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism |
| title_short | Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism |
| title_sort | acupuncture for radicular pain a review of analgesic mechanism |
| topic | radicular pain acupuncture mechanical compression inflammation spinal cord synapses brain function |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2024.1332876/full |
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