Raynaud's syndrome is recurrent spasm of the arteries supplying the fingers and toes (and sometimes the earlobes, nose and lips), which often causes pain varying from mild to severe in intensity.
It is thought to affect as many as 10 million people in the UK, with women five times more likely to suffer than men. The condition usually occurs between the ages of 20 - 40 in women and later in life in men.
The trigger for an episode is usually either exposure to the cold or mechanical stress (such as intense vibration, for example from using a drill). This causes the arteries to go into spasm, shutting down and therefore closing off the blood supply to the extremities, so causing the symptoms.
The skin turns white, then blue, before eventually going bright red as the spasm fades and the blood supply is restored. This final stage is accompanied by severe pain and occasionally numbness or tingling. Symptoms are usually completely reversible but in severe cases there is permanent damage and ulceration of the tissues.
In a groundbreaking piece of research German Doctors in Hanover proved that Acupuncture can be used to induce long-lasting reduction of Raynaud's attacks. The study compared the treatment of 17 patients suffering from Raynaud's Syndrome with a control group of 16 patients. The treatment group received 7 acupuncture treatments during a two week period.
The treatment group showed a significant decrease in frequency of attacks from 1.4 to 0.6 per day and an overall reduction of attacks of 63% (compared to 23% in the control). When patients' hands were exposed to cold, the mean time of no blood flow through the nail-bed capillaries decreased from 71 to 24 seconds. Follow-up questionnaires showed that the benefits lasted beyond 10 months, and there were no adverse effects.
Local Registered Osteopath and Acupuncturist, Paul Clusker, says “Over the past 30 years I’ve treated a number of patients for this condition with Acupuncture and I’ve always been pleasantly surprised how quickly patients seem to respond to treatment”.
Just recently Paul has been treating local woman Alex. Alex confirms that she has been a long-time sufferer with Raynaud’s Syndrome. She says “Every year I suffer painful fingers as the weather gets colder. Sometimes the pain can be severe. It really gets you down when you’ve tried medication, gloves and keeping warm - all to no avail. The only thing that is guaranteed to work for me is Acupuncture”.
Having only recently moved into the area Alex explains that she has previously been using Acupuncture to control her condition for some years and when she moved into the area one of her first jobs was to find a local practitioner. Alex continues “I’ve had four sessions of acupuncture with Paul Clusker and after the first session I experienced immediate pain relief”.
For more information contact Paul Clusker at the BackCare & Acupuncture Clinic.
M: 07973 908 933
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