Acupuncture treatments affect several of the body s neurotransmitters, bringing about changes in the blood serum levels of these neurotransmitters. Scientists have found that low serotonin levels make people more vulnerable to headaches. The ability of acupuncture to regulate serotonin levels was extensively studied by experts in China, Japan, and Canada. Changes in serotonin levels in both the brain and the spinal cord can be achieved with acupuncture. He showed that electrical stimulation of acupuncture needles released different levels of endorphin compounds in the central nervous system.
Endorphins are natural pain killers in the body.
It is this mechanism that is most widely cited to explain the effectiveness of acupuncture treatments in relieving pain, including headache pain. Acupuncture treatments affect the levels of trace elements in blood serum. Scientists found that a low level of magnesium in serum is correlated to migraines. A very recent clinical study conducted in the Department of Acupuncture and Orthopedics at Hubei Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine indicates that acupuncture treatments can increase the blood magnesium level. Eukephalines, B-endorphin, dynorphin, orphanin FQ, and endomorphin were discovered between 1975 and 1997.