Since the 1980s the prevalence of chronic childhood conditions has been increasing with 13–27% of children now being affected by conditions such as asthma, obesity, ADD/ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders. This is likely due to changes in physical environments, social environments, and the improvements within the medical community in screening for and identifying these conditions. These conditions may last into adulthood and can have a significant impact on the child as well as their family. Chronic conditions that manifest in adolescence are correlated with higher risk of depression and suicidal ideation. So it’s not surprising that many families are now seeking integrative care including acupuncture for their children.

Various reviews have found acupuncture to be effective treatment for chronic pain with a variety of origins, infantile conditions, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and cerebral palsy, among other conditions. Acupuncture is considered safe and well-tolerated with a very low risk of adverse effects.

Pain Relief

Acupuncture for pain relief is one of the most well-studied areas. Acupuncture can help with migraine relief and tension type headaches, as well as relieve pain from other medical procedures or chronic pain conditions. In one study, children receiving outpatient acupuncture therapy were asked to rate their pain on the scale from 1-10 before and after and they reported average reductions in pain from 5.5 to 2.2 points, with 40% of patients reporting a complete resolution of symptoms!

In adolescent girls, acupuncture is an effective treatment for relief from painful periods, regulating menstrual cycle, and even treating dysmenorrhea.

Cerebral Palsy

A 2018 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials looked at 21 studies and 1718 patients comparing acupuncture plus rehabilitation with rehabilitation alone. The meta-analysis found that acupuncture provided improvements in gross motor function and fine motor function with improvements. Of the 21 studies included in the analysis, three were classed as grade A for quality, while the remainder were classed as grade B.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

While this area of study needs more evidence, a few small trials of acupuncture treatment in children with ASD indicated improvements in both cognitive and all-around function, as well as improvements in communication and linguistic skills. More recently, studies have reported improvements in sociability, receptive language, motor skills, coordination, and attention span. Some of the greatest improvements seem to be made in verbal communication, suggesting that acupuncture may be most effective for younger children with ASD, effectiveness decreasing with age.

Infants

Evidence suggests acupuncture can be an effective treatment for a common infant condition: colic. A 2016 study found that acupuncture reduced crying time in infants with colic, reducing crying time to less than three hours a day (one of the diagnostic criteria for colic) following acupuncture.

A more severe condition for which acupuncture may be useful is neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS is a group of symptoms experienced by babies withdrawing from fetal exposure to drugs or prescription medications such as opioids and benzodiazepines. In a randomized, controlled, blinded trial infants with NAS who received acupuncture care required reduced morphine therapy and reduced length of hospital stay compared with control subjects. Because of this, hospital costs were reduced by 26.4% for infants receiving acupuncture care. These infants with NAS showed improved feeding following acupuncture treatment, and were calmer and slept better during and immediately after treatment. These findings were confirmed by several additional studies.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Numerous nerve pathways and biochemicals have been identified as being involved in acupuncture’s diverse range of effects. One of the most important is known as purinergic signaling. In purinergic signaling, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) plays a role in regulating all tissues and organs. Research has shown that purinergic signaling is involved in diverse clinical areas including migraines and headaches, immunity and inflammation cancer, autism, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and endocrine function.

Acupuncture also affects the central nervous system and is able to induce muscle relaxation and changes in visceral organs. In the brain, acupuncture has been shown to alter functional connectivity and decrease activity in limbic structures associated with stress and illness.