Treatment of Essential Tremor With Neck Region Acupuncture

Essential tremor is a neurological condition that involves involuntary movement of different parts of the body. Very often it is characterized by shaking movements of hands, head, body or vocal cords. In some situations, it also affects balance. In specific cases, tremor can be caused by other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, or multiple sclerosis, or it can be caused by medication use, alcohol withdrawal, severe stress and emotional problems and other diseases, such us hyperthyroidism.

Although essential tremor is not considered a life-threating condition, it may severely affect a patient and his family. Simple tasks such as writing or typing could be a challenge, but in serious cases, the patient experiences difficulty with dressing, tying shoes or even bringing food or water to the mouth during meals. Some people have to leave their work due to their inability to perform tasks. If vocal cords are affected, communication with family and friends becomes frustrating and the patient may attempt to avoid social interactions, leading to feelings of loneliness.

The cause of the essential tremor is unknown, but the disease links to the abnormal electrical activity in the thalamus – the structure located between the midbrain and the cerebral cortex that passes signals and information between both. In severe cases of essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease, doctors can implant an electrode to the thalamus to modify its work by an electrical stimulator. However, the downside to surgery is a possible hemorrhage or infection.

On the other hand, there is another non-invasive technique that can be used in initial or moderate stages of the essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease. This is a special acupuncture treatment to the neck region that aims to modulate the work of the central nervous system and to improve a patient’s symptoms. This particular neuroacupuncture technique was developed in China. Four thin acupuncture needles are inserted into specific acupuncture points in the neck and stimulated with low electric current. This current aims to adjust the work of the reticular formation, the net of the neurones in the midbrain that have a projection to the thalamus. Furthermore, the ascending part of the reticular formation contains neurones that produce dopamine, and its descending pathway – from the brain to the spine – also controls final movements. Therefore, the neck acupuncture region also can modulate the work of the thalamus and reticular system, stimulate the production of the dopamine and improve symptoms of patients suffering from essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease.

On this video, you can see the effect of the neck region acupuncture on 2 patients with essential tremor.

On the first video, you can see the immediate effect after the treatment. The second video demonstrates the effect after 10 treatments. It should be noticed that neuromodulation of the reticular formation using neck region acupuncture does not work for everyone. However, if it’s effective, the treatment should be continued at least 3 months, and we also advise combining the acupuncture treatment with traditional Chinese herbs to make it stable and lasting. Repeated treatment is needed to maintain condition.

References:

1. “Tremor Fact Sheet,” NINDS, Publication date May 2017. NIH Publication No. 17-4734
2. Liu SL, Gao WB. Brief introduction to Professor Gao Wei-bin’s needling technique of ‘Ten Acupuncture Skills’. J Acupunct Tuina Sci, 2017, 15(3): 204-208 DOI: 10.1007/s11726-017-1001-3
3. Acupuncture Found Effective for Progressive Bulbar Palsy Treatment Published by HealthCMi on 19 May 2018
4. Liu X. Effects of nape acupuncture combined with swallowing rehabilitation on dysphagia in pseudobulbarpalsy J Tradit Chin Med 2018 February 15; 38(1):117-124 ISSN0255-292
5. Reticular formation. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticular_formation