Alopecia Often Well Treated by Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Alopecia is one of the more frustrating disorders for a patient to experience – the loss of patches, broad swatches, or even all the hair on the body [alocepia areata; alopecia totalis; and alopecia univeralis, respectively]. Happily Chinese medicine, using both acupuncture and herbology, can be extraordinarily useful in remedying this problem for most people.

The process of treating this disorder is highly individualized, as is most of what we do in the field of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. The patient is evaluated based, not only on the hair loss pattern, but also on other health history issues and a tailored treatment plan using acupuncture and herbology is created.

Research/Articles

An fascinating overview of a new study which found that acupuncture and herbal medicine were very effective in treating alopecia can be read here. The summary at the end states,

The researchers note that acupuncture is one of the most significant treatment methods in TCM for the treatment of alopecia areata. Research demonstrates that acupuncture promotes blood circulation, especially to the skin. As soon as blood flow increases, nutrient levels at different areas of the skin are replenished to encourage hair growth. Additional research demonstrates that acupuncture regulates the neuroendocrine system and benefits the immune system. The researchers concluded that acupuncture is safe and effective for alopecia areata treatment when it is combined with the Huoxue Shengfa decoction.

From the Journal of Chinese Medicine, published in Britain comes a well written summary of generally accepted protocol for treating various patterns of alopecia. It can be read here.

From the Journal of Acupuncture Science comes a study comparing a commonly prescribed pharmacetical for alopecia with acupuncture. The article, which can be read here, found that, 

Acupuncture is better than medications in the treatment of alopecia areata.