Is acupoint thread embedding therapy for weight loss really effective?

Nowadays, the pace of life is fast. Under the heavy pressure of work, many urban men and women have irregular diets, and staying up late and insomnia are the norm. Maintaining bad living habits for a long time not only makes the body "unable to bear", but also makes the body "fat". I tried to exercise and diet but couldn't stick to it, and I am afraid of the side effects of oral medication. How can I regain my health and lose weight "painlessly"? The experts of the Acupuncture Department of the Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine will introduce you to a traditional Chinese medicine external treatment method - acupoint thread embedding.

Ms. Liu is 35 years old. Before she became pregnant, she had a well-proportioned figure and her weight was maintained at around 100 pounds all year round. However, her weight continued to soar after giving birth. Not only could she not wear many beautiful clothes, but she would be out of breath even if she walked a little faster. Now her baby is more than 3 years old, but she is still more than 20 pounds heavier than before she was pregnant. In order to reshape her figure, she tried various methods, but the results were not ideal. In September 2023, she learned that acupuncture might help lose weight, so she decided to give it a try.

Ms. Liu was treated by Zhong Li, deputy director of the Acupuncture Department of the Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. She said that in addition to the weight gain, Ms. Liu also had cold hands and feet, irregular menstruation, scanty menstruation, fatigue, and sometimes abdominal distension, indigestion, diarrhea and other discomfort symptoms. In view of this situation, the doctor suggested that she could try acupuncture or thread embedding treatment. Considering that she was busy at work, Ms. Liu finally chose acupuncture thread embedding, which is a treatment once every 2-3 weeks.

According to reports, Ms. Liu felt obvious soreness and swelling in the first two days after the thread was implanted, but the soreness and swelling gradually subsided. Gradually, she found that the symptoms of indigestion were alleviated, and she also lost 5 kilograms in weight after 2 weeks. After persisting for about 2 months, she lost more than 10 kilograms, and her menstruation was normal for two consecutive cycles, and she was not so tired. As of March this year, her weight remained stable at around 100 kilograms.

"Acupuncture thread embedding therapy is an extension of traditional acupuncture and can be understood as an 'advanced version' of acupuncture therapy. Both acupuncture and acupuncture thread embedding are guided by meridian theory and stimulate acupuncture points to achieve the purpose of unblocking meridians, improving physical condition, and preventing and treating diseases," Zhong Li introduced.

It is understood that acupuncture thread embedding therapy is to embed a protein thread that can be absorbed by the body into a specific acupuncture point. The embedded thread is slowly absorbed in the acupuncture point to produce a lasting acupuncture point stimulation effect. The stimulation is larger and longer-lasting, and the treatment effect can last for 1-2 weeks, or even more than 1 month. In this continuous stimulation process, it can balance the state of yin and yang in the internal organs, and make up for the deficiency of yin and yang, so that the body can achieve "yin and yang balance". Under normal circumstances, acupuncture thread embedding can be treated once every 2-3 weeks. For busy working people, it is simply a "tailor-made" Chinese medicine health care therapy.

In addition to reducing fat and slimming, it can also improve sub-health and various chronic diseases. "The department often has mothers and office workers coming to implant threads. Most of them have weight gain, high blood lipids, irregular menstruation and other problems due to work pressure, staying up late, irregular diet, or long periods of sitting and lack of exercise." Zhong Li said.

It is understood that the hospital has successively received more than 600 patients for acupoint thread embedding treatment in recent years, and opened a special clinic for acupoint thread embedding in March 2024. The scope of application of acupoint thread embedding is very wide. In addition to reducing fat and losing weight, relieving fatigue, and improving the body's immunity through acupoint thread embedding, it is also suitable for the treatment of various pain syndromes and chronic diseases, such as chronic low back pain, chronic gastritis, chronic urticaria, functional dyspepsia, polycystic ovary syndrome, primary menstrual disorders, etc. The acupoints for thread embedding are determined according to the specific condition. Generally, Tianshu, Zhongwan, Zusanli, Pishu and other acupoints can be selected.

However, it should be noted that not everyone is suitable for acupoint thread embedding. Zhong Li pointed out that some secondary obesity, such as hypothalamic lesions or obesity caused by drugs, endocrine system diseases such as hypercortisolism and hypothyroidism, are not suitable for thread embedding therapy; in addition, people with poor coagulation function, acute infections, or severe heart, liver, and kidney dysfunction are not suitable for thread embedding. The specific situation still needs to be evaluated and decided by the doctor.