A study led by Dr Andrew Vickers looked at 29 trials of acupuncture for pain conditions including migraines and headaches, osteoarthritis, and neck and back pain, involving 18,000 patients. The study showed that acupuncture was better than sham acupuncture and usual care for chronic pain, and that acupuncture is superior to placebo. It was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in September 2012.
Category / acupuncture
Acupuncture Can Reduce Fatigue in Cancer Patients
According to the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the tiredness occuring in patients who’ve had breast cancer can be effectively treated with acupuncture. After the treatment for their cancer, hundreds of thousands of patients suffer from tiredness. Help is at hand with acupuncture.
Acupuncture Relieves Dry Mouth Caused by Radiotherapy
In this study published in the Annals of Oncolgy in October 2012, the UK researchers recruited 145 people who were suffering from dry mouth as a result of radiotherapy treatment. Half were given acupuncture and the other half had general oral care advice. After 8 weeks they switched places. After the acupuncture the participants were twice as likely to say their symptoms had improved, including difficulties in talking, eating and sleeping.
Acupuncture Helps Parkinson’s Patients
According to a 2012 South Korean study of 12 patients published in the CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, acupuncture caused different regions of the brains of Parkinson’s patients to receive improved neural responses.
Acupuncture for Depression
Researchers from the University of Western Australia have undertaken a study of how effective acupuncture is in treating patients with depression. The research, published in the journal ‘Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice’ 23.7.12, concluded that acupuncture was effective in reducing depressive symptoms.
Acupuncture for Chronic Lung Disease
Acupuncture can be used to improve the condition of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to a MAY 2012 Japanese study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, acupuncture is claimed to help manage the disease by alleviating laboured breathing. This was a randomised controlled trial involving 68 patients. Half the participants had acupuncture for 12 weeks while taking their usual medications. The other half had placebo acupuncture with blunt needles which did not pierce the skin, and medications. The trial lasted for 3 years. The researchers found that patients who had undergone real acupuncture demonstrated significant improvement in breathlessness, exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life. No improvement was shown in the placebo group. More and bigger studies need to be made to support these findings.
Acupuncture for Sleep Problems
In one study in of 44 women, acupuncture was better than drug treatment for relieving sleeplessness according to a 2008 article in Acupuncture and Electro-therapeutics Research.
Another study published in 2009 in the Chinese Medical Journal found that electroacupuncture improved sleep quality and daytime social functioning in chronic insomniacs.
Chronic Pelvic Pain
An “Opinion Paper” published by scientists from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists states that acupuncture may be useful for chronic pelvic pain. Specific trials weren’t quoted, but the scientists had looked at the results of trials on closely related conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic inflammatory disease, and painful menstruation.
Acupuncture Helps Lymphoedema
According to a September 2011 article in the European Journal of Oncology Nursing, a study from the UK suggests that acupuncture can help improve the quality of life for cancer survivors with lymphoedema. The study recruited 35 cancer survivors with lymphoedema, and participants received seven acupuncture treatments and six optional further treatments. In addition to the improved quality of life scores, improvements in pain and vitality were significant to four weeks after treatment.
Medical Acupuncture Journal
The “Medical Acupuncture Journal” has dedicated a whole issue to the use of acupuncture by the US military. Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Richard Niemtzow, explains: “The use of acupuncture for helping wounded warriors suffering from pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and mild traumatic brain injury is growing rapidly”.