Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine in COPD: Efficacy on Functional Performance and Systemic Inflammation

Objective: To summarise the clinical efficacy of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine as complementary therapies for stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), focusing on symptomatic, functional, and systemic outcomes.Key Findings: Acupuncture - Highly effective for immediate symptomatic relief, significantly reducing dyspnoea (mMRC, Borg scale) and improving exercise capacity (6MWD gains of +67.4 m to +80.1 m). Its primary mechanism is linked to neuro-modulation and improved respiratory muscle efficiency. Herbal Medicine - Provides a sustained and systemic benefit, leading to clini-cally significant improvements in quality of life (SGRQ reductions > 4 points) and robust reduc-tion in acute exacerbation frequency. Efficacy is supported by its immunomodulatory action, reducing inflammatory markers (IL-8, TNF-alpha). Pulmonary Function - Neither therapy con-sistently reversed structural lung damage; improvements in FEV1 and FVC were modest, sug-gesting their main impact is on stability and symptomatic experience, not mechanics.Conclusion: Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine are complementary and effective adjuvant thera-pies for COPD. Acupuncture excels in acute functional gains and dyspnoea relief, while herbal medicine ensures systemic stability and sustained quality of life improvement. Integration of both with conventional treatment is recommended for a comprehensive approach.