Health Newsletter

Acupuncture in the News

Encouraging Results For Acupuncture In Fibromyalgia
The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture needling at specific points for fibromyalgia symptoms (FMS). Following the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for FMS, 21 participants completed the study. The mean age was 53.6 years. Acupuncture treatments included 17 points for FMS symptoms and eight outcome measures were collected.
The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) showed significant differences at 1 and 2 months. Pain threshold scores were significantly different at the end of treatment for five bilateral tender points. This analysis showed that the higher the FIQ score, the more positive the change experienced by study participants.
Singh BB, Wu WS, Hwang SH et al. Effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of fibromyalgia. Altern Ther Health Med 2006; 12(2):34–41.

Acupuncture For Hip And Knee Arthritis
A large German trial has found that acupuncture is of significant benefit in controlling the pain of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. Of 3633 patients, 357 were randomized to receive acupuncture (15 treatments over three months), 355 were randomized to a non-acupuncture control group, and 2921 did not accept randomization and opted for acupuncture treatment. All patients received usual medical care in addition to acupuncture. The randomized acupuncture group showed significant improvement over controls at both three and six months in osteoarthritis severity (WOMAC scale) and quality of life. Improvements were comparable to those in the non-randomized acupuncture group. Partly as a result of this trial, the German Ministry of Health is considering a recommendation from a federal committee of doctors and health insurers that acupuncture should be covered by medical insurance. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 54; 11: 3485 – 3493).

Decrease in Endometrial Pain After Acupuncture
A study of 101 women (aged 20 to 40), of whom 83 completed the trial, with laparoscopic-proofed endometriosis were randomized into one of two groups. The first received specific acupuncture for the condition while the other was treated at non-specific points (points with no relation to the diagnosis). Treatment was given twice weekly for ten weeks. After a two-month interval, the two groups changed. There was a highly significant decrease in pain levels in the specific group compared to the non-specific group, where the pain remained nearly unchanged. Altern Complement Ther 2006; 11: 42.

Acupuncture Improves Chronic Obstructive Asthma
Acupuncture is known to relieve symptoms associated with asthma, but in a pilot clinical study published in the J Altern Complement Med., acupuncture was used in adult patients with chronic obstructive asthma to determine its contribution to relief of symptoms. Forty-one patients with chronic obstructive asthma were enrolled in a randomized study that involved 8 weeks of treatment. Twenty acupuncture treatments were administered, and self-administered acupressure was performed daily for 8 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with clinically stable, chronic obstructive asthma experienced clinically significant improvements in quality of life when their standard care was supplemented with acupuncture.

Chronic Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD/TMJ): Short Term Pain Reduction With Acupuncture Treatment
National Institutes of Health (NIH), in its consensus statement on acupuncture, states that promising results have been shown for post-operative dental pain. NIH states that in other situations of myofascial pain, acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative treatment. The vast majority of chronic orofacial pain conditions are temporomandibular disorders (TMD). TMD's are a set of musculoskeletal disorders affecting the temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles or both. METHODS: A chart review of 29 patients, age 22 to 60, who had acupuncture treatment for chronic orofacial pain was completed. Patients had rated their pain before and after acupuncture treatment on a numerical analog scale. RESULTS: The mean value of pain sores before treatment was 5.28 and after treatment was 2.26. There was a significant difference of pain scores between before treatment and after treatment. Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Univ. of California, San Francisco, Goddard

Acupuncture & Rheumatoid Arthritis
A small study has demonstrated that acupuncture, and particularly electro-acupuncture, appears to be effective in reducing joint pain, stiffness and swelling in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 36 patients, average age 58, suffering from RA that was unresponsive to other therapies, were assigned to three groups and received either electro-acupuncture, traditional acupuncture or ‘placebo acupuncture’. All received twenty treatments over ten weeks. In both the acupuncture groups the number of tender joints and physician’s global scores were significantly reduced.
Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, Nov 2006.