Sunlight filtering through lush green leaves, symbolizing renewal and healing - mirroring the restorative effects of acupuncture for chronic dry mouth after cancer treatment.

Xerostomia: How Acupuncture Can Ease Chronic Dry Mouth After Head and Neck Cancer

If you’ve completed radiation therapy for head and neck cancer but still struggle with persistent dry mouth (also called xerostomia), you’re not alone. Chronic radiation-induced xerostomia can make it hard to speak, chew, swallow, and even sleep. Fortunately, new research shows that acupuncture for cancer care may offer lasting relief.

What Is Chronic Radiation-Induced Xerostomia?

Radiation treatments aimed at curing head and neck cancers can damage the salivary glands, reducing saliva production. This persistent dryness can lead to:

  •   Oral discomfort and soreness
  •   Difficulty eating and speaking
  •   Increased risk of dental decay and infections
  •   Poor sleep quality and disrupted routines

Traditional remedies, like sipping water, chewing sugar-free gum, and rigorous oral hygiene, often provide only temporary relief.

The Latest Clinical Trial: A Closer Look

“Acupuncture is minimally invasive and inexpensive, has a low incidence of adverse effects, and may be considered as a treatment option for patients with chronic radiation-induced xerostomia.” * citation 

A large, community-based trial published in JAMA Network Open compared three approaches for managing chronic xerostomia at least one year after radiotherapy: true acupuncture (TA), sham acupuncture (SA), and standard oral hygiene advice (SOH only).

  • Participants: 258 adults (mean age 65.0 years; 77.9% men) from 33 cancer centers across 13 U.S. states.
  • Treatment Arms:
    • True Acupuncture (TA): Needle stimulation at traditional points twice weekly for 4 weeks (extendable by 4 more weeks if minor response)
    • Sham Acupuncture (SA): Needles at non–therapeutic points with similar frequency
    • Standard Oral Hygiene (SOH): Brushing, rinses, and lip balms without needles
  • Assessment Tools:
    • Xerostomia Questionnaire (XQ): Measures dry mouth severity
    • FACT‑G: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General, evaluates overall quality of life

Remarkable Results at 4 Weeks

By the primary endpoint at 4 weeks, those receiving true acupuncture experienced:

  • Lower Dry Mouth Scores: XQ score of 50.6 vs 57.3 in the SOH group (difference, –6.67; 95% CI, –11.08 to –2.27; P = .003).
  • Better Quality of Life: FACT‑G score of 101.6 vs 97.7 in SOH (difference, 3.91; 95% CI, 1.43–6.38; P = .002).

Notably, sham acupuncture did not outperform oral hygiene alone, underscoring the specific benefits of correctly targeted acupuncture needles.

Why Acupuncture Works

Acupuncture may help by:

  • Stimulating Saliva Glands: Improving gland function to boost natural saliva flow
  • Modulating Nerve Signals: Calming nerve pathways that contribute to dry mouth sensations
  • Reducing Inflammation: Encouraging anti-inflammatory responses around glandular tissue

What This Means for You

If chronic dry mouth from radiation continues to affect your daily life, consider integrating acupuncture:

  1. Consult Your Care Team: Ask if acupuncture is right for your recovery plan.
  2. Seek a Trained Practitioner: Look for a registered experienced acupuncturist with good understanding of cancer care.
  3. Track Your Symptoms: Keep a diary of dryness levels and quality of life to measure progress.

Acupuncture is minimally invasive and has a low risk of side effects, making it an attractive complement to traditional oral hygiene strategies.

Your next step

Don’t let persistent dry mouth hold you back. Talk to your healthcare provider about acupuncture referral. If you’re coming to see our experienced team at Dr Vitalis Acupuncture Auckland, you don’t need to be referred.  Get in touch to see how you can benefit from this natural treatment.

How acupuncture helps inflammation

Inflammation: How your immune system can turn against you, and how to make it work again

In the glamorous world of balanced health, there lies a covert saboteur, one that cunningly evades the light yet contributes to the wellness woes, wrecking healthy aging and even fertility. Let me introduce you to chronic inflammation, the less attention grabbing yet equally powerful cousin of its acute counterpart.

Picture this: your immune system is like a sophisticated bouncer at an exclusive party, meticulously scrutinising each guest before granting entry. Yet sometimes, a mischievous villain slips past these defenses, lurking in your body’s deepest corners, reigniting your immune system’s fiery defensive response. This is how your immunity guards you against intruders including bacteria and viruses firing inflammation at them.

Another potential drama unfolds when your body mistakes its reflection in the mirror for a sinister stranger. In the suffering of an autoimmune fight, your own immune system wages war on your body’s healthy cells and tissues. And, regrettably, this is destructive and not restorative, damaging the joints, intestines, or other organs and tissues as if they were malicious intruders.

Our lifestyles can also be the provokers of persistent inflammation. Those seemingly harmless, sometimes hard to avoid factors, such as sitting too much, neglecting physical activity, or eating a diet high in processed foods and refined carbohydrates can collectively fan the inflammatory flames. And let’s not forget the consequences. Chronic inflammation is slowly destroying you from within. It damages blood vessels, heightening the risk of heart disease, stroke. Not to mention the increased risk of developing cancer, diabetes and fertility troubles.

Alas, chronic inflammation’s manifestations are more subtle, masquerading behind the veil of commonplace complaints. It may seem elusive, but here are some clues that might suggest its presence:

  • Fatigue and an lack of energy
  • The “dance partners”, depression and anxiety
  • Aching in your muscles and joints
  • Gastrointestinal upsets, from constipation to diarrhoea
  • Fluctuations in weight or appetite
  • A perpetual, unwelcome visitor: the headache
  • Brain fog that’s clouding your clear thinking

So, be aware of chronic inflammation’s deceptive charm and consider how it may be affecting your life. It’s time to shine a light on this masked marauder and ensure you’re living your most vibrant, fabulous life!

How to shine the light on the unwelcome guest, inflammation and get rid of it

  1. Eat smart, get active, manage your weight, watch your alcohol intake
  2. Reduce stress and sleep well: chronic stress can fuel the inflammation, so can poor sleep. Can’t sleep well? Learn about acupuncture for insomnia.
  3. Consider acupuncture as your powerful allie

Why acupuncture is the ultimate natural therapy for inflammation

Determinedly, modern research supports the efficacy of acupuncture in reducing inflammation. Journal of Nature reports that acupuncture floods your body with a potent healing balm for inflammation – Adenosine, increasing it 24-fold.  Numerous studies showed acupuncture can modulate inflammatory cytokines, key players in the inflammatory process. Researchers from Netherlands explore modulating effect of acupuncture on some 17 inflammatory mediators, and the healing effects on conditions like asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and complex regional pain syndrome.

Acupuncture goes beyond providing mere relief for symptoms. This fascinating treatment delves into the body’s inner workings, addressing the root causes of chronic inflammation. It’s an intimate conversation between your body and the gentle touch of acupuncture.

What’s more, acupuncture works in harmony with our body’s natural pain relief system. By promoting the release of endorphins, acupuncture soothes our aches and discomforts.

So, embrace acupuncture as a sophisticated ally in your quest to combat inflammation. Step into the mesmerising world of ancient healing, and allow your body to bask in the glow of optimal health and balance.

Whether you’re aiming to prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, or other conditions connected to chronic inflammation, the sooner you incorporate these seven steps into your life, the better!

How COVID affects sperm quality

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a concerning issue has emerged: a potential link between the virus and decreased sperm quality in men. While fever is believed to be a contributing factor, research has also shown that the virus can damage the very cells that support sperm, and even bind to the sperm itself, potentially causing irreparable harm.

A study conducted in India revealed that a staggering 70% of men experienced a 49% decline in sperm quality ten weeks after recovering from Covid-19. However, the remaining 30% did not see a decline in measurable sperm parameters. While there was some improvement in sperm quality 21 weeks after recovery, most men still experienced a 12% decrease in sperm quality compared to before contracting the virus. And for 15% of men, there was no sign of improvement at all. The question of whether this damage is permanent remains unanswered.

The epididymis, a long and coiled tube in testes, which stores and transports sperm, has also been found to be inflamed in some men during mild to moderate Covid-19 infections. A study conducted by University of Sao Paulo Medical School showed that epididymis was inflamed in 11 of 26 men during mild to moderate covid infection but not in the degree of an intensive care unit. Furthermore, laboratory research showed that this coronavirus can infect the Sertoli cells in testes, which provide support for sperm.

As the medical community searches for ways to mitigate the damage caused by Covid-19, some have raised the possibility of using acupuncture as a treatment for male fertility issues. While there have been no studies specifically addressing the effect of acupuncture on Covid-related male fertility problems, previous research has shown that acupuncture can improve blood flow to the testes, improve sperm parameters, and reduce inflammation. Could this natural treatment hold the key to helping men overcome the damage caused by this modern pandemic?