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A group of Italian researchers released a study in Medical Acupuncture in April 2019 that found acupuncture can help with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after a natural disaster. After a 6.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Amatrice, Italy, in 2016, residents were researched after almost 300 individuals were killed and 30,000 people were displaced. Natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes, are unpredictable and wreak widespread devastation in communities. Survivors have been connected to psychiatric diseases, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Starting around a month after the earthquake, the participants in this study underwent five weeks of acupuncture sessions. The effectiveness of the treatments was assessed using patient-reported values on a pain scale. Prior to the treatments, 68 percent of the patients reported having PTSD-related psychological and pain symptoms. After the third treatment, 54 percent of patients said their psychological symptoms had improved, and 60 percent said their pain symptoms had improved. Researchers used statistical analysis to determine that the difference between the first reported psychological and pain scores and the scores after the third treatment was significant. The researchers did not report any adverse side effects or events.
Communities are forced into stressful situations in the aftermath of natural disasters for a variety of reasons, including loss of life, property, job loss, other economic losses, loss of community if some members leave, and destruction of infrastructure such as schools or restaurants, among others. Individual mental health appears to have a crucial influence on a community’s ability to reconstruct after a natural disaster, according to studies.
Although further research is needed to back up the outcomes of this study, it does imply that acupuncture can be a useful therapy for communities recovering from a natural disaster. Acupuncture has been shown in studies to be beneficial at balancing hormone levels, which helps to reduce stress levels in the body. The field of acupuncture’s potential to decrease physical pain has produced the most substantial body of study. This research demonstrates that acupuncture can help with stress and pain caused by natural disasters.
If you are suffering from PTSD, please give us a call so we can help you begin to live a life free from PTSD.
