Can acupuncture help Notalgia Paresthetica?

Suffer from relentless itching and skin irritation in your mid-back that just won’t go away? You may have a sensory neuropathy called notalgia paresthetica. 

Notalgia paresthetica is a chronic sensory neuropathy commonly seen in older females. It presents with one sided itching over the mid-back area between scapula and spine. These symptoms may include itching, tingling, numbness or burning pain, often last for months to years. Due to the chronic irritation patients often feel need to constantly scratch area and often report “they are not able to wear a bra” or clothing that irritate area as it can may itching worse. The cause is often unknown but it has been categorized as a sensory type neuropathy. However, it maybe caused by degenerative disc disease, viral infection such as shingles, osteoarthritis of the spine, diabetes, or be idiopathic/no known cause.

There is no known cure however medication such as Gabapentin or topical creams like lidocaine maybe recommended to help calm nerve pain and inflammation. Often these come with unwanted side effects or do not help to reduce the chronic itching. 

What do the studies say?

Previous studies have found that acupuncture can help with symptoms of neuropathy. Acupuncture can help with increasing microcirculation to aid in health of nerves, decrease numbness, improvement in sensory loss, and improved quality of life. In addition, studies show that acupuncture can also be effective for neurogenic pruritus cases as well. A recent study found for those with localized segmental pruritus, acupuncture was found to have significant reduction and in some cases total resolution of symptoms as measured on reported visual analogue scale in 75% of patients in the study.

If you suffer from Notalgia Paresthetica or neuropathy and looking for safe and effective ways to help, give our office a call at (425) 686-4498 to set-up your initial consultation to learn more about how we can help.

Dr. Ellie Heintze, ND, LAc, is a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist in Bothell, WA at her practice Starting Point Acupuncture. She specializes in chronic and complex cases and commonly treats neuropathy, fibromyalgia, migraines, autoimmune, and infertility cases. Dr. Ellie Heintze is also the author of the book, A Starting Point Guide to Going Gluten-Free  and Keep Calm and Zen Out available on Amazon.

Sources:

Gabapentin and nerve regeneration: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044743122000732#bb0020

Side effects of gabapentin: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e023600

Modern Trends for PHN treatment: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00337/full

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09546634.2019.1603360

Acupuncture and nerve conduction: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01632.x

Acupuncture for neurogenic pruritus: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1136/aim.20.4.186