Our practice has seen patients with Raynaud’s syndrome who improved considerably with acupuncture. Just recently, a case history was published in Acupuncture in Medicine that investigated acupuncture for the treatment of Raynaud’s. Reynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is a vasospastic disorder that causes discoloration of the fingers and/or toes. It is characterized by the “red, white and blue” color of the patient’s fingers and toes. RP is due to excess sympathetic nerve stimulation leading to excess vasoconstriction. The resulting hypoxia (lack of oxygen) causes the discoloration and sometimes pain and swelling. Most patients notice RP in the winter time as cold exacerbates the condition and warmth tends to relieve the symptoms.
In this recent study, acupuncture was applied to a woman, thirty years of age, who suffered from pain and stiffness of the extremities due to Raynaud’s. At the end of the two months, researchers concluded acupuncture did indeed have an anti-inflammatory effect and is a great alternative treatment for pain associated with RP! Just another example of the many conditions acupuncture is able to treat….. 🙂