1997 Further evidence that endorphins figure importantly in pain control comes from a new look at some of the oldest and newest pain treatments. The new look frequently involves the use of a drug that prevents endorphins and morphine from working. Injections of this drug, naloxone, can result in a return of pain which had been relieved by morphine and certain other treatments. Thus nature has provided us with more than one means of achieving pain relief. The needles are agitated by the practitioner to produce pain relief which some individuals report lasts for hours, or even days.
Opinion is divided.
Many specialists agree that patients report benefit when the needles are placed near where it hurts, not at the body points indicated on traditional Chinese acupuncture charts. The case for acupuncture has been made by investigators who argue that local needling of the skin excites endorphin systems of pain control. Further, some experiments have shown that there are higher levels of endorphins in cerebrospinal fluid following acupuncture. Those same investigators note that naloxone injections can block pain relief produced by acupuncture. Others have not been able to repeat those findings.