Pathophysiological justification of acupuncture in the treatment of traumatic diseases of the musculoskeletal system (literature review)

Abstract

The main pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of a traumatic disease of the musculoskeletal system are peripheral circulation disorder, hypoxia, and inflammation, which is accompanied by the development of pain. Pain management is a primary component in helping patients with various injuries. The activation of sanogenetic reactions is also crucial in accelerating the processes of damaged tissues regeneration. A scientific search on the impact of acupuncture on typical pathophysiological processes of traumatic disease was conducted in the Medline and Google Scholar databases. The analysis of scientific journal articles showed that despite the ambiguous attitude to acupuncture, the effectiveness of the method is quite high. Acupuncture is a branch of complementary medicine that has been used for thousands of years. Scientific research in recent decades has established a positive therapeutic effect on various links of pathogenesis through the implementation of the main mechanisms of acupuncture, at the segmental, suprasegmental and cortical levels, manifested in the form of neurohumoral and neuroimmune reactions. The presented literature review directs researchers to further study the possibilities of acupuncture in the treatment of traumatic diseases of the musculoskeletal system from the standpoint of evidence-based medicine.