Recently, many studies have shown that persistent pain has a significant effect on work and daily life (RFRSNC). Chronic pain resulting from physical trauma, disease or injury, or of unknown etiology, can have a substantial effect on patients' lives. Many are forced to give up work permanently, abandon potentially fulfilling physical and social activities, or give up contact with friends and family. In addition to these problems for patients themselves, chronic pain can cause financial hardship and distress other family members. A multinational study found that chronic pain is associated with reduced ability to work and complexity in meeting the demands of daily activities. There is evidence that chronic pain has negative effects on physical and psychological health, daily activity, employment and economic well-being. For example, in the UK, it has been estimated that back pain leads to the loss of 45 million working days each year (REFRNC). Furthermore, the National Health Service (NHS) spends significant funds on the treatment of chronic pain; in 1991 the Office of Health Economics estimated NHS spending at £1 billion a year. Patients with such conditions also often seek help in complementary and alternative medicine, which is a recent phenomenon in the West. As the number of patient consultations for such drugs increases rapidly, there has been growing interest in non-pharmacological modulation and its effectiveness. Such treatments include traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), particularly acupuncture, which can provide analgesia for chronic pain. For example, patients suffering from peripheral joint osteoarthritis and neck pain have ta......middle of paper......gesia, but that can be helped by the body's pain-reducing system as it stimulates the release of endorphins, enkephalins and serotonin, as well as GABA. The acupuncture position was strengthened by the detection of both endorphins and enkephalins. Many experiments on humans and animals have shown that acupuncture causes the release of endorphins and enkephalins, directing opiates to different areas of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system. Side effects of acupuncture that have been identified are nerve injury, brain damage, kidney damage, and pneumothorax. However, the risk of these complications can be avoided with adequate training of acupuncturists and the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. There is evidence that MRI can identify central nervous system pathways stimulated by acupuncture (GUIDELINES).