This post is about Chiropractic West Palm Beach: Acupuncture for Raynaud’s Syndrome.  Raynaud’s Syndrome is a physical disorder with persistent pain and disability.  Although it is classified as a rare disease, up to 200,000 people experience this condition in the United States, alone, in any given year.

If you have Raynaud’s Syndrome, acupuncture can provide relief!  We’ve got some great information to share below.

What is Raynaud’s Syndrome?

Raynaud’s Syndrome is often the result of trauma.  For example, it could be fractures, crush injuries, myocardial infarction, strokes, peripheral nerve (nerves located outside of spinal cord and brain) injury.  And certain medication use or after surgery may be a cause. 

 

Signs and Symptoms of Raynaud’s Syndrome (Raynaud’s Phenomnea/ Shoulder-Hand Syndrome and Lower Leg Swelling/ Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy(RSD)

Firstly, you will report having persistent pain and swelling following an episode of trauma.  Moreover, it will include mainly the distal (away from center of body) extremities (limbs). The level of pain is measured as one of the most severe on some pain scales.

Secondly, usually only one extremity is involved with vasomotor instability (blood vessels are constricting and dilating abnormally). Subsequently, it may lead to Raynaud’s phenomenon.  So the blood vessels in the extremities (limbs) are to narrow, restricting blood flow. The episodes or “attacks” usually affect the fingers and toes.

Thirdly, trophic skin changes occur. Trophic is a term used to describe abnormalities.  This includes wasting away of the skin, tissues, or muscle.  Moreover, thinning of the bones, and changes in how the hair or nails grow.  Also, thickening or thinning of hair or brittle nails occur.  Lastly, when trophic changes occur to the bones, it’s called Sudeck’s Atrophy (bone demineralization).

 

Phases of Raynaud’s /reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Raynaud’s first phase may be pain and swelling with an increase in sweating and hair growth in the involved area.

Next, in the second phase (3-6 months later) the skin gradually changes.  It becomes a shiny appearance that is cool to the touch. In the third phase, eventually (3 to 6 months after the second phase) this may progresses to atrophic (degeneration and thinning) skin. 

Finally, there may be limited range of motion, weakness, or other motor disorders such as paralysis or dystonia (involuntary muscle contractions that cause repetitive or twisting movements). And development of flexion contractures (bent joints) of the limbs may occur due to these motor disorders. And when this occurs in the shoulder, it is referred to as shoulder-hand syndrome. 

 

Cause(s) of Raynaud’s Syndrome

There are many theories regarding Raynaud’s.  Most believe that a nervous system dysfunction is at the core of this syndrome.

Definitely, Raynaud’s syndrome is a chronic neuro-inflammatory disorder. It occurs when the nervous system and the immune system malfunction while responding to tissue damage from trauma. 

Your sympathetic nervous system connects the internal organs to the brain by spinal nerves. In this theory, it is believed your sympathetic nervous system may become hyperactive.  Additionally, it can have misconnections to sensory neurons (nerve cells) leading to Raynaud’s Syndrome. 

Another theory attributes the disorder to “nerve sprouting” after an injury.  This is when axonal sprouts (fine nerve processes) grow out.  It grows from intact axons during healing.  Next, it reinnervates the denervated muscle fibers.  Sprouting is supposed to sustain the nerve supply.  However, in Raynaud’s Syndrome, abnormal sprouting may actually be the cause.  

 

 

Chiropractic West Palm Beach: Acupuncture for Raynaud’s Syndrome: Research

Firstly, results of one study showed Acupuncture increased remission incidence and decreased daily number of attacks.  The study stated a variety of different adverse reactions from medications/drugs. These include gastrointestinal effects and drug-drug interactions for patient’s with Raynaud’s syndrome. Many Raynaud patients therefore have turned to acupuncture.  (1)

Secondly, Thirty-three patients with primary Raynaud’s syndrome were in an acupuncture study.  There were 16 “control” patients and 17 “treatment” patients. The treated patients showed a significant decrease in the frequency of attacks.  (2)

 

Chiropractic West Palm Beach: Acupuncture for Raynaud’s Syndrome

Acupuncture has been used for over 4000 years to treat pain and other health problems safely and effectively. The acupuncture treatment stimulates the imbalanced pathways called meridians. This activates the body’s natural healing abilities.  

By stimulating the nervous system and opening up blood vessels, acupuncture can help Raynaud’s attacks. The release of endorphins during acupuncture can act as natural painkillers. Acupuncture reduces the pain experienced during vasospastic incidents in the hands and feet. Acupuncture can also help lower stress levels. Stress is a common trigger for Raynaud’s flare-ups.  Regular acupuncture treatments creates an overall sense of well-being.

Meiri Chiropractic offers acupuncture for Raynaud’s Syndrome and many other ailments. Dr. Natalie Meiri is a chiropractic physician, board certified in acupuncture with over 20 years of experience.  Call today 561-253-8984 for an appointment.

 

References: (1) Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Treating Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Zongshi Qin, Xiaoxu Liu, Jiani Wu, Yanbing Zhai, Zhishun Liu  PMCID: PMC4631886  PMID: >26576192

 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10115941/

(2) Treatment of primary Raynaud’s syndrome with traditional Chinese acupuncture

R Appiah  ¹ , S Hiller, L Caspary, K Alexander, A Creutzig PMID: 9077368 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2796.1997.91105000.x  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9077368/