A study carried out by neuroscientists in the United States of America depicts that acupuncture can help in relieving pain by triggering a natural painkilling chemical known as adenosine, as per the nature Neuroscience on Monday.

The ancient Chinese art form that comprises of sticking needles into the body's stress points has not been given as much importance and its credibility has also been doubted for a long time.

Critics are of the opinion that what the patients get advantage from the procedure is all in the mind. The care, attention and the conviction of the treatment results in placebo effect for the ones that undergo the procedure.

But Maiken Nedergaard, the leading Neuroscientist of the research group said that his research has shown that a physical technicality is what works through which acupuncture helped in relieving the pain.

The research panel carried out acupuncture on mice with sore paws. They imitated a standard acupuncture treatment.

Throughout and just after this process, levels of adenosine in the tissues close the needle increased by 24-fold. The mouse's uneasiness computable by the rodents' reply time to touch and heat was lessened by two-thirds.

Elevated levels of adenosine with no acupuncture as well had a calming effect, the journal Nature Neuroscience reports.