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Research Archive

Welcome to our Chinese medicine and acupuncture research news pages. We add to the content of these pages continuously as more research news comes in. Browse through the complete archive below or use the category links on the right.

Please note that the most twenty recent research archive items are free to view but access to the thousands of items in the archive require a journal subscription.

ACUPUNCTURE PROMISING FOR PELVIC PAIN

Categories: Pelvic, Pregnancy & Labour

A systematic review of the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating pelvic and back pain in pregnancy has found promising results. Two small trials on mixed pelvic/back pain and one large high-quality trial on pelvic pain met the inclusion criteria. The authors concluded that the current evidence, although limited, supports the use of acupuncture in treating the conditions. (Acupuncture for pelvic ...

ACUPUNCTURE FOR PELVIC GIRDLE PAIN (PGP) DURING PREGNANCY

Categories: Pregnancy & labour, Pelvic

Swedish researchers have compared acupuncture with non-penetrating sham acupuncture in women with pelvic girdle pain (PGP) during pregnancy. In a randomised double-blinded controlled trial 115 pregnant women with PGP were randomly allocated to standard treatment plus acupuncture or to standard treatment plus non-penetrating sham acupuncture for eight weeks. After treatment, median pain decreased i ...

ACUPUNCTURE RELIEVES PROSTATE PAIN

Categories: Pelvic

Electroacupuncture (EA) can relieve symptoms in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and is particularly effective for pain relief. In the first randomised controlled trial of EA for this condition, Korean researchers randomised 39 men into three treatment groups: advice and exercise plus 12 sessions of EA (EA); advice and exercise plus 12 sessions of sham EA (SEA); and advice ...

ACUPUNCTURE & NECK PAIN

Categories: Neck

A randomised placebo-controlled study carried out at three University out-patient departments in Germany, compared the use of massage, acupuncture and sham laser on 177 patients with chronic neck pain. All patients received five treatments. The acupuncture group showed the best results in nearly all secondary outcome measures (Abstracted in Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur, Jg. 43, 1, 2000 ...

ACUPUNCTURE & NECK PAIN

Categories: Neck

A study published in the British Medical Journal shows that acupuncture is an effective short term treatment for patients with chronic neck pain. A total of 177 patients with chronic neck pain were randomly allocated to five treatments of three different kinds over a three week period. 56 patients received needle acupuncture, 60 were given conventional massage, and 61 received "sham" las ...

ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTIVE FOR CHRONIC NECK PAIN

Categories: Neck

A small Norwegian study has found that acupuncture can have significant long term effects in reducing neck pain. 24 female office workers with chronic neck and shoulder pain were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture to either true points or to non-points. All received 10 treatments over a 3-week period. The pain intensity had fallen by 70% in the true acupuncture group after treatment and rema ...

ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTIVE FOR NECK PAIN

Categories: Neck

A review of ten different trials has concluded that there is evidence that acupuncture can relieve chronic neck pain. Different trials found that i. Acupuncture offered better pain relief than sham Tens or sham laser or sham acupuncture (needles inserted in unsuitable locations), ii. Acupuncture provided better pain relief than just waiting, and iii. Acupuncture provided better pain relief than ma ...

Acupuncture enhances physiotherapy for neck tension

Categories: Neck

Acupuncture combined with physiotherapy has been compared with acupuncture alone and physiotherapy alone as a treatment for tension neck syndrome. A prospective, comparative clinical trial involving 46 patients was carried out in Spain. Patients were allocated to three groups: Group-1 received physiotherapy (therapeutic exercises) combined with acupuncture; Group-2, acupuncture alone, and Group-3, ...

ACUPUNCTURE FOR HEAD AND NECK PAIN

Categories: Neck

Myofascial jaw pain can be significantly reduced by a single acupuncture treatment at Hegu L.I.-4. Twenty-eight subjects with chronic myofascial pain of the jaw muscles were randomised to receive real or sham acupuncture. Prior to treatment, each subject clenched their teeth for two minutes. Acupuncture or sham acupuncture was then administered at Hegu L.I.-4 for 15 minutes. Real acupuncture was c ...

ACUPUNCTURE AND WHIPLASH INJURY

Categories: Neck, Miscellaneous

A study has analysed postural changes after acupuncture treatment in a group of 15 patients with balance disorders caused by cervical torsion due to whiplash injury. The treatment consisted of 3 once-weekly sessions during which points Tianzhu BL-10 and Fengchi GB-20 were needled. Patients were given posturograhic evaluations before and just after treatment. 17 patients with the same symptoms, and ...

ACUPUNCTURE ANALGESIA

Categories: Miscellaneous

A randomised placebo-controlled single-blind study of 50 patients in Germany compared the analgesic effect of needling a single acupuncture point (on the arm) traditionally indicated for knee pain, with a simulated acupuncture treatment (control group) in postoperative knee pain following total knee replacement. The acupuncture group showed significantly greater pain relief lasting several hours. ...

AURICULOPRESSURE AND PAIN RELIEF

Categories: Miscellaneous

The effect of auriculopressure on pain relief was assessed by comparing two groups of healthy students. In the first group, auriculopressure was applied to the 'toe' ear point and pressure sensitivity at the toe was measured with an algometer before and after treatment. The increase in pain threshold was statistically significant compared with a control group who received placebo stimulation at th ...

TENS VERSUS ACUPUNCTURE

Categories: Miscellaneous

A study has shown that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is less effective than electro-acupuncture in the treatment of chronic pain. 156 patients with chronic pain (lower back ache, osteoarthritis of the knee, and cervical spondylosis) were divided into two groups (one TENS and one electro-acupuncture) and each given fifteen treatments. In the acupuncture group, pain relief was m ...

CArpal tunnel syndrome

Categories: Hand & wrist

31 patients (36 hands) with carpal tunnel syndrome of a mean 24 months duration, with 14 hands having failed either one or two surgical release procedures, were treated by combined therapy. Primary treatment was low-level laser acupuncture and microamps TENS, and secondary treatment included regular needling and Chinese herbal formulas and supplements. Treatment was given three times a week for 4- ...

ACUPUNCTURE & PAIN

Categories: Miscellaneous, Facial

A study carried out at the Department for Family Medicine at the University of Maryland has shown that acupuncture is more effective than placebo in the treatment of postoperative oral surgery pain (Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery 1999; 125(5): 567-572).

Acupuncture and spine cord injury

Categories: Back, Spinal cord

Acupuncture is effective in treating chronic pain following spinal cord injury (SCI) according to research carried out at the Department of Psychiatry, New Jersey Medical School. Twenty-two patients with SCI who suffered moderate to severe pain of at least six months duration received a course of 15 acupuncture treatments over a seven and a half week period after an equivalent assessment period wi ...

AURICULAR ACUPUNCTURE FOR ACUTE PAIN

Categories: Miscellaneous

A randomised controlled pilot study compared the effects of standard emergency medical care to auricular acupuncture plus standard care in patients with acute pain syndromes. Eighty-seven people with a diagnosis of acute pain completed the emergency room (ER) trial. Participants in the acupuncture group experienced a 23% reduction in pain before leaving the ER, while average pain levels in partici ...

AUDIT OF ACUPUNCTURE FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN

Categories: Miscellaneous

A retrospective audit of case histories, carried out in a Spanish primary care pain treatment unit, has concluded that acupuncture is effective in treating musculoskeletal pain. Electronically stored case histories of 5981 patients who sought acupuncture treatment for non-oncological pain at the unit, over a nine-year period, were reviewed. The primary outcome measure was the 'success rate', defin ...

AMBULANCE ACUPRESSURE REDUCES BROKEN ARM PAIN

Categories: Miscellaneous

Applying acupressure to Baihui DU-20 and Hegu L.I.-4 while in transit to hospital effectively reduces pain and anxiety in patients with distal radial fractures. Acupressure was performed in the ambulance on a group of 32 patients either at true acupressure points or at sham points. Vital signs, and pain and anxiety scores were recorded before and after the acupressure treatment. At the hospital, p ...

ACUPUNCTURE BENEFITS PROSTATE PAIN

Categories: Male disorders, Miscellaneous

Acupuncture treatment is more than twice as likely as sham treatment to improve men's symptoms of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Malaysian researchers randomised 89 patients to ten weeks of twice-weekly 30-minute true or sham acupuncture sessions. The patients were scored on the NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI). Response to treatment was defined as a minimum six- ...