ABSTRACT
Craig-PENS is a systematized pain treatment technique involving the stimulation of peripheral nerves, nerve roots, and the autonomic nervous system to dramatically attenuate the transmission, processing and perception of pain by the nervous system. Western researchers have described Acupuncture Analgesia as stress induced analgesia for some time now. This description of AA acknowledges the intimate relationship between the endogenous opioid system and the manipulation/ stimulation (i.e., stress) of acupuncture points. However the theories of acupuncture have the underlying goal not necessarily of alleviating pain but of achieving an ideal balance and flow of yin and yang energies in the 12 meridians, and extraordinary meridians. This gap between eastern theories and western neurophysiology has limited the integration of acupuncture into western medicine in the treatment of pain. While acknowledging the contributions and value of TCM and the other acupuncture systems, Craig-PENS focuses not on the meridians but on the structure, function and functional relationships of the human nervous system.
