If you’re one of the millions dealing with long COVID symptoms months after your initial infection, you know how frustrating and debilitating it can be. Common long COVID symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, muscle aches, headaches, and shortness of breath can make it difficult to get through your day. You may have tried various treatments and medications with limited success. This leaves many long COVID patients desperate for relief.
This is why an increasing number of people with long COVID are turning to acupuncture. While acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to treat everything from pain to nausea to anxiety, emerging research shows it may also help certain long COVID symptoms.
How Can Acupuncture Help Long COVID?
The exact reasons why acupuncture may improve some long COVID symptoms are still being studied. According to traditional Chinese medicine principles, acupuncture helps regulate energy flow and balance in the body. Some suggest acupuncture may help long COVID by:
- Reducing inflammation
- Improving blood flow
- Activating the body’s natural healing abilities
- Lifting mood and reducing pain signals
- Stimulating areas of the brain involved in symptoms like fatigue and brain fog
While larger-scale clinical trials are still needed, initial studies are promising. One recent study found acupuncture improved fatigue, anxiety, sleep issues, and quality of life in 80% of long COVID patients after just eight sessions. The benefits lasted for up to three months.
What Symptoms Could Acupuncture Help With?
More research is needed to determine which long COVID symptoms may respond best to acupuncture. So far, the evidence indicates acupuncture may help with:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Sleep problems
- Anxiety and depression
- Shortness of breath
- Loss of taste/smell
There have also been reports of patients seeing improvements in “brain fog,” muscle aches and pains, racing heart rate, and stomach issues with regular acupuncture sessions.
Is Acupuncture Right for You?
Acupuncture takes time, so you likely won’t see overnight results. It’s important to find an experienced acupuncturist specializing in treating long COVID patients for the best chance of improvement. Always discuss your full symptom history with your practitioner.
While further research is still needed, acupuncture is a promising option for finding relief from stubborn long COVID symptoms when other treatments fail. It offers very few risks and may provide at least some help. If you’re struggling with life-altering long COVID symptoms, acupuncture is worth considering alongside other lifestyle measures under your doctor’s care.