- A comprehensive study commissioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs found acupuncture to have a positive effect in the treatment chronic pain, migraine and tension headache.
- The same study found a potentially positive effect in dysmenorrhea, cancer pain, labor pain, insomnia, post-operative nausea and vomit, depression, and smoking cessation. [1]
- Acupuncture outperforms placebo in relieving the most common types of chronic pain: headache, low back, neck, shoulder and knee pain. [2]
- Acupuncture significantly outperforms standard care in headache, low back, neck, and knee pain.[3]
- Acupuncture is superior to most forms of physical therapy in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.[4]
- Acupuncture can reduce the risk of nausea and vomiting after surgery, with minimal side effects.[5]
- In a prospective study involving 229,230 patients, acupuncture was found to be a relatively safe treatment with a low risk of serious side effects.[6]
- The American College of Physicians and American Pain Society recommend acupuncture as a second-line therapy for chronic low back pain.[7]
- The American College of Chest Physicians recommends acupuncture for cancer patients when pain, nausea, vomiting, or other side effects of chemotherapy are poorly controlled.[8]
- The Joint Commission includes acupuncture as one of the non-pharmacological strategies that has a role in pain management in hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient care.[9]
[1] Hempel S, Taylor SL, Solloway M, et al. Evidence Map of Acupuncgture. VAE-ESP Project #05-226; 2013.
[2] Vickers AJ, Cronin AM, Mascino AC, et al. Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Sep 10:1-10.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Corbett MS, Rice SJC, Madurasinghe, et al. Acupuncture and Other Physical Treatments for the Relief of Pain Due to Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Network Meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2013 Sep;21(9):1290-8.
[5] Lee A, Fan LTY. Stimulation of the wrist acupuncture point P6 for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD003281. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003281.pub3 – See more at: http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD003281/ANAESTH_p6-acupoint-stimulation-prevents-postoperative-nausea-and-vomiting-with-few-side-effects#sthash.rdBx95G6.dpuf
[6] Witt CM, Pach D, Brinkhaus B, Wruck K, Tag B, Mank S, Willich SN. Safety of acupuncture: results of a prospective observational study with 229,230 patients and introduction of a medical information and consent form. Forsch Komplementmed. 2009 Apr;16(2):91-7.
[7] Chou R, Qaseem A, Snow V, et al. Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain: A Joint Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147 (7): 478-491.
[8] Cassileth BR, Deng GE, Gomez JE, Johnstone PA, Kumar N, Vickers AJ; American College of Chest Physicians. Complementary therapies and integrative oncology in lung cancer: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (2nd edition). Chest. 2007 Sep;132(3 Suppl):340S-354S.
[9] The Joint Commission. Revisions to pain management standard effective January 1, 2015. Joint Commission Online. November 12, 2014. http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/23/jconline_November_12_14.pdf
[…] Acupuncture has traditionally used theories of Qi to explain how it works. Today, there are thousands upon thousands of scientific research studies being conducted to explain how acupuncture works in modern science biomedical terms. An Introduction to Western Medical Acupuncture goes into some of the scientific ideas and approaches. Acupuncture is holistic and stimulates many systems simultaneously including: Nervous, muscular, endocrine, immune, circulation, reproductive, digestive, and respiratory systems. Here is a summary of current research and medical standards supporting acupuncture. […]