Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Acupuncture
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition characterised by persistent fatigue, affecting the nervous system, physical strength and diminished quality of life.
Western medical treatments mostly focus on symptom management. Acupuncture and Moxibustion are gaining recognition for the potential to enhance the overall functioning of the whole system and improve treatment outcomes.
CSF in all walks of life
Chronic Fatigue is a problem affecting huge numbers of people. Many people experience the feeling of being tired all the time. A feeling that no amount of sleep is improving things. About 47% of visits to the GP include people saying that they feel tired all the time.
Fatigue can be caused by our system is permanently stuck in sympathetic nervous system overdrive. In this state, we are placing continual demand on the adrenal glands to keep us pumped up mentally and physically. Then you find yourself in a state of adrenal fatigue. Becoming unable to respond to day-to-day challenges, leading to burnout and CFS. When fatigue is this deep, your immune system can be reduced; therefore, if you then get ill with a virus, you do not have so much strength to fight the virus, and CFS can set in.
Some fatigue comes from deep within us when your spirit is broken. When life has been so hard and the going so tough that we feel broken, lost, or dispirited. This can occur for many reasons; it may come from discussed above, also from abuse or historic abuse.
Other fatigue can come in the cycles of life. This could be from teenagers with exam and social stress, hormonal problems in teenagers, pregnancy to menopause. Through life with work, relationships, family stresses with children and elderly relatives and illness, postnatal issues, and many more. Bringing disharmony to your life which becomes overwhelming over time, exhausting you.
Life Energy – Qi
When treating with Traditional Five Element Acupuncture, we treat your Life Energy – Vital Force – Qi. The ardeal fatigue that is characterised by today’s lifestyle affects your Qi. Your Body, Mind and Spirit become so depleted you cannot function or functioning in a constant state of fight, fight or freeze.
Caring for Your Qi
When you start treatment with Traditional Five Element Acupuncture, an assessment is made of the strength and flow of your Qi. Your Acupuncturist will ask you about all aspects of your life and work and medical history, assessing you as a whole. Looking at your activity, work, sleep, rest, diet, relationships and more, assessing the effect on your Qi. Taking your pulses, assessing physical and emotional wellbeing, to treat you holistically.
Managing Chronic Fatigue
With CFS, it is advised that you only use 60% of available energy at any time, never allowing yourself to completely drain your energy battery. This is because once completely drained, it takes far longer to restore, with often days of payback. Usually, making greater effort results in worsening of symptoms, and the challenge is to accept the limitations and adopt the crucial ‘60% rule’.
When treating with Traditional Five Element Acupuncture, we carefully, gently and slowly help you recover, not overtreating as this can break the 60% rule too. Each person is different in their recovery, which is the beauty of Traditional Five Element Acupuncture, as we treat everyone’s individual needs. Acupuncture can gently help you recover from Chronic Fatigue and to enable you to navigate your future to reduce recurrence. Your acupuncturist will also give you lifestyle advice to encourage your recovery and ongoing wellbeing.
Acupuncture Treatment
For treatment and information, about how Traditional Five Element Acupuncture can help your CFS contact Hannah Charles Lic Ac MBAcC – Traditional Five Element Acupuncturist on –https://www.southwellacupuncture.co.uk/contact/
Hannah is a founder member of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC)
The BAcC is an advocate on behalf of Traditional Acupuncture professionals and maintains the highest professional standards to protect the general public. BAcC members belong to an accredited register, regulated and approved by the Professional Standards Authority for Health & Social Care (PSA). For More information, see the website –https://acupuncture.org.uk/
Acupuncture Research
A recent randomised controlled trial explored the impact of these therapies on heart rate variability (HRV) and fatigue symptoms in patients with CFS.
Study Overview
The trial included 210 participants: 175 diagnosed with qi deficiency syndrome-associated CFS and 35 healthy controls. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six groups…..
Key Findings
Both acupuncture and moxibustion significantly improved HRV parameters and reduced fatigue in CFS patients. Acupuncture demonstrated superior short-term effects by enhancing parasympathetic activity, particularly at ST 36. Meanwhile, moxibustion provided long-term autonomic benefits, suggesting complementary mechanisms between the two therapies.
Notably, combined stimulation of ST 36 and CV 4 yielded the most substantial autonomic regulation, outperforming single-point treatments.
These findings suggest that acupuncture can be optimised for CFS by targeting specific acupoints that regulate autonomic balance, offering a pathway to individualised, mechanism-based treatments.
Conclusion
Acupuncture and moxibustion continue to show promise in addressing autonomic imbalance in CFS. By enhancing HRV parameters and fatigue symptoms, these therapies contribute to improved patient outcomes and quality of life. As research advances, mechanism-based acupuncture strategies may offer more effective and personalised interventions for CFS.
Reference
- Li T, Litscher G, Zhou Y, et al. Effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on heart rate variability in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: regulating the autonomic nervous system in a clinical randomized controlled trial. Compl Ther Med, 2025. In press: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40315935/.
