The study showed that acupuncture significantly decreased pain after tonsillectomy in children (2-17 years of age) with reported pain levels before acupuncture of 5.52 (SD=2.28) out of 10 which fell to 1.92 (SD=2.43) after acupuncture. This retrospective research was conducted in 31 patients who underwent a tonsillectomy within a 3 month period of time by Dr. James Ochi, one of only a handful of dual board-certified ENT and medical acupuncture in the United States. No study patients received any narcotics for pain control beyond tylenol, ibuprofen, and a single dose of intra-operative dexamethasone. The tonsillectomy itself was performed using electrocautery set at 24W.
The acupuncture points used for pain control are shown below and was performed bilaterally:
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| Image taken from the Research Paper |
LI4 point is hypothesized to work so well because:
"Stimulation at LI4 increases activity in the somatosensory cortex and a region of the brainstem known as the periaqueductal gray area, as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging, that are involved in processing pain signals." [link]Although promising, in order to be fully convinced of the effectiveness of acupuncture for post-tonsillectomy pain, further research that is prospective, randomized, and controlled is required.
BUT... because the risks and side effects are so nominal, it can't hurt to give it a try for those patients and families interested in doing so.
For full disclosure, I personally have no experience in providing acupuncture and I would suggest taking these research findings to a reputable and licensed acupuncturist to get this done in those who are interested.
Watch a video showing how a tonsillectomy is performed here!
Reference:
Acupuncture instead of codeine for tonsillectomy pain in children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Volume 77, Issue 12 , Pages 2058-2062, December 2013
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