Current evidence-based research on acupuncture
Historically, research on acupuncture has been inconclusive due to a number of factors, notably controlled-study issues. But there is now an abundance of new, exciting evidence-based research that supports acupuncture as an effective way to treat pain, chronic illnesses, and stress-related symptoms.
Here are some recent studies and a report conducted by reputable sources in the medical community:
Institute of Medicine: “Relieving Pain in America”
Overview:
“Acupuncture appears to affect several mechanisms in the brain and spinal cord, including those involved in pain and inflammation. A systematic review supports its use in postoperative pain management (Sun et al., 2008).”
“Likewise, a German clinical trial involving more than 3,000 patients with chronic low back pain found that acupuncture improved functioning (Witt et al., 2006).”
Office of The Army Surgeon General: “Pain Management Task Force- Final Report, May 2010”
Overview:
“Providing a Standardized DoD and VHA Vision and Approach to Pain Management to Optimize the Care for Warriors and their Families. For patients interested in treatments other than, or in addition to, medication, Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a popular option. There is a wide range of these therapies and treatments, such as acupuncture and yoga therapy, that have proven valuable in reducing an overreliance on use of medications to treat pain.”
Andrew J. Vickers: “Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Individual Patient Meta-analysis”
Overview:
“Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo.”
Yu-Jeong Cho, KMD: “Acupuncture for Chronic Lower Back Pain”
Overview:
“This randomized sham-controlled trial suggests that acupuncture treatment shows better effect on the reduction of the bothersomeness and pain intensity than sham control in participants with cLBP [chronic lower back pain]”
Michael Haake, PhD, MD “German Acupuncture Trials for Chronic Low Back Pain”
Overview:
“Low back pain improved after acupuncture treatment for at least 6 months. Effectiveness of acupuncture, either verum or sham, was almost twice that of conventional therapy”
Wenjing Huang: “Characterizing Acupuncture Stimuli Using Brain Imaging with fMRI- A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of the Literature”
Overview:
“Brain response to acupuncture stimuli encompasses a broad network of regions consistent with not just somatosensory, but also affective and cognitive processing…most studies suggest that acupuncture can modulate the activity within specific brain areas, and the evidence based on meta-analyses confirmed some of these results.”
Sharon M. Mannix: “Acupuncture for Managing Phantom-Limb Syndrome: A Systematic Review”
Overview:
“Acupuncture therapy has been shown to have a positive effect on the symptoms of phantom-limb syndrome.”
Liane Venzke: “A Randomized Trial of Acupuncture for Vasomotor Symptoms in Post-menopausal Women”
Overview:
“This study showed that both shallow needling and verum acupuncture were effective treatments of post-menopausal vasomotor symptoms. Study subjects were not able to distinguish shallow needling from real TCM acupuncture.”
“In the interests of developing an evidence base for acupuncture treatment, a number of recent trials have been conducted comparing verum acupuncture to non-invasive needling for various conditions such as back pain, fibromyalgia, and migraine. All these studies showed benefit for study subjects from both non-invasive and verum acupuncture…”
S.S. Ding: “Acupuncture Modulates the Neuro–endocrine–immune Network”
Overview:
“Modern scientific researches show that body’s inherent regulatory system is neuro–endocrine–immune (NEI) network. Hence, we speculate that the regulatory effect of acupuncture may be produced through its regulation of NEI network. In this article, were viewed the recent researches about acupuncture’s effect on the NEI network, to find out the evidence of acupuncture adjusting NEI network and provide some evidences for revealing the mechanism of acupuncture.”