(WHS-P102) ACUPUNCTURE FOR WOUND HEALING: A REVIEW OF EVIDENCE AND ITS BIOLOGICAL BASIS
Friday, May 17, 2024
7:30 AM – 5:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Purpose: Review the current evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture for wound healing and its biological basis.
Background: Organizers are small groups of cells which control growth and differentiation of a larger region. Their structure and function have been well established in embryogenesis. Organizers are singular points of morphogen gradient field and bioelectric field. They can be activated by nonspecific subtle stimuli such as needle prick causing long lasting growth control effects. The organizer model of postembryonic growth control suggests that a network of organizers continues to exist after embryogenesis and plays a critical role in regulating tissue growth and repair. Acupuncture points (acupoints) likely originate from the organizers. Acupuncture has been shown to have extensive growth control effects and can promote wound healing. Organizers and acupoints have been confirmed to share many similarities as predicted.
Methods: A literature search was conducted in Pubmed and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies using keywords (acupuncture OR acupoint) AND (wound healing). Studies were included if they met the at least one of the following criteria: (1) they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs); (2) they investigated the effect of acupuncture on wound healing; (3) they reported outcomes related to wound healing, such as wound size, healing time.
Results: Several studies including RCTs on both human and dogs met the inclusion criteria. The results of the studies showed that acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture in promoting wound healing in a variety of wound types. The effect sizes were small to moderate, but statistically significant. Acupuncture can promote wound healing by increasing the release of interleukins, the expression of growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor-β1, and regulating phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B as well as mitogen-activated protein kinase.
Conclusions: Acupuncture can be effective for wound healing by activating the organizers of growth control and increasing the wound healing response. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms by which acupuncture promotes wound healing and to determine the optimal therapeutic parameters for wound healing. The development of wearable medical devices with low intensity transcutaneous acupoint stimulation can improve the cost effectiveness of wound healing.