I am in the final stage of writing my Ph.D. thesis on a case study whether Acupuncture in conjunction with conventional medicine (i.e. antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drug) has an impact on Lyme arthritis. I hope in general with regular Acupuncture treatment, the arthritic pain will be minimized and under control without or with minimum intake of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication. I want to find out the TCM treatment plan of invigorating blood circulation and removing the stasis is working on Lyme arthritis. Since the acupuncture treatment is a holistic treatment, I am expecting the treatment will enhance patient’s immune system and improve fatigue. From Chinese medicine perspective, when Wei qi (defensive qi or immune system) had been weakened, a pathogen (bacteria) was allowed to enter into the body. But the body was trying to protect the organs, therefore the pathogen was moved to the joints. Joint is considered the deepest part of the wei (exterior) level. When pathogen further weakened the fluids of the body, including blood, the patient started experiencing extreme pain. Although the results of this case study may be promising, they are very limited because of one case study. I hope this case study will open up a tremendous opportunity for research trials concerning acupuncture treatment for Lyme arthritis. I am also hoping this case study will add alternative protocol for treating chronic Lyme disease along with current conventional protocol.
The following is a link to an interview I had with the founder of Lyme Disease Research Database talking about Acupuncture for healing Lyme.
Acupuncture Works 