HCI 313 Module 5 Research Paper: Treating Diseases With Eastern and Western Medicine Example

Needles, Pills and Pressure Points: Eastern and Western Treatment of Three Common Conditions

Student Name

BS in Health Innovation, Arizona State University

HCI 313: Philosophy of Science in Health Care: Understanding Paradigms of Health and Healing

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Needles, Pills and Pressure Points: Eastern and Western Treatment of Three Common Conditions

Introduction

Traditional Chinese medicine explains health as the balanced flow of qi through channels in the body, and illness as blockage or imbalance. Acupuncture, which inserts fine needles at specific points, and acupressure, which applies pressure to them, aim to restore that flow. Western biomedicine explains disease through anatomy, physiology and pathology and treats it with drugs, procedures and rehabilitation. The two systems rest on different philosophies of the body, but their treatments can be tested by the same methods: randomized trials and systematic reviews.

Condition 1: Chronic Low Back Pain

Western approach. The American College of Physicians recommends that people with chronic low back pain start with nondrug treatments such as exercise, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, mindfulness, yoga, tai chi, spinal manipulation and acupuncture, and reserve medicines such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for when those fail (Qaseem et al., 2017).

Eastern approach. Acupuncture treats back pain as blocked qi along the channels that run through the back. Pooling raw patient records from randomized trials, researchers found acupuncture more effective than both sham and no-acupuncture control for chronic musculoskeletal pain, with effects that persisted over time and could not be explained only by placebo (Vickers et al., 2018).

Comparison. Here the two systems meet: a Western guideline now recommends an Eastern therapy, based on Western evidence.

Condition 2: Migraine Prevention

Western approach. Prevention relies on daily medicines such as beta blockers or anticonvulsants, along with avoiding triggers.

Eastern approach. Acupuncture aims to rebalance the channels associated with the head. Cochrane reviewers combining 22 trials concluded that adding acupuncture to usual care meant fewer headache days, that it had a small effect over sham acupuncture and that it may be at least as effective as prophylactic drugs (Linde et al., 2016).

Comparison. The evidence suggests acupuncture is a reasonable option for patients who want to avoid daily medicines or their side effects, though long-term studies are lacking.

Condition 3: Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Western approach. Antiemetic drugs such as ondansetron and dexamethasone are given before or after surgery.

Eastern approach. Pressure or stimulation at the PC6 point on the inner wrist is believed to settle the stomach. Across 59 trials pooled by Cochrane reviewers, PC6 stimulation cut nausea and vomiting compared with sham, though the evidence was low quality, and showed no difference from antiemetic drugs, with moderate-quality evidence (Lee et al., 2015).

Comparison. PC6 acupressure is cheap and safe, and it can be offered alongside drugs for patients who prefer fewer medicines.

Acceptance and Rejection

Western acceptance of acupuncture has grown as trials accumulated, and some guidelines now include it. Skeptics argue that the qi theory lacks a physical basis and that effects over sham are small, which suggests part of the benefit comes from expectation and attention. Many patients accept acupuncture because it fits holistic beliefs about health or because they want to avoid drugs, especially opioids for pain.

Social and Economic Impact

Cost and coverage shape access. Medicare began covering acupuncture for chronic low back pain in 2020, within limits (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2020), but many private plans cover few sessions, so patients often pay out of pocket. This makes acupuncture more available to people with higher incomes. Acupressure, by contrast, costs almost nothing. Expanding coverage for effective Eastern therapies could reduce reliance on medicines, including opioids, but would require training and licensing standards to ensure safety.

Conclusion

For these three conditions, Eastern and Western approaches start from different explanations but can be judged by the same evidence. Where trials support them, as with acupuncture for chronic pain, Eastern therapies are entering Western practice; where evidence is weak, skepticism remains appropriate. The deciding factor is not the philosophy behind a treatment but whether it helps patients.

References

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2020). National coverage determination: Acupuncture for chronic low back pain (30.3.3). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lee, A., Chan, S. K., & Fan, L. T. (2015). Stimulation of the wrist acupuncture point PC6 for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015(11), CD003281. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003281.pub4

Linde, K., Allais, G., Brinkhaus, B., Fei, Y., Mehring, M., Vertosick, E. A., Vickers, A., & White, A. R. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016(6), CD001218. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3

Qaseem, A., Wilt, T. J., McLean, R. M., & Forciea, M. A. (2017). Noninvasive treatments for acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 166(7), 514-530. https://doi.org/10.7326/M16-2367

Vickers, A. J., Vertosick, E. A., Lewith, G., MacPherson, H., Foster, N. E., Sherman, K. J., Irnich, D., Witt, C. M., & Linde, K. (2018). Acupuncture for chronic pain: Update of an individual patient data meta-analysis. The Journal of Pain, 19(5), 455-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005