Research
Research into the effectiveness of acupuncture, as well as it’s mechanisms of action, are growing rapidly. Click here for an overview of the scientific evidence or see below for research on specific conditions.
ANXIETY
Title: Acupuncture for anxiety and anxiety disorders – a systematic literature review
Conclusion: “Positive findings are reported for acupuncture in the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder or anxiety neurosis…”
DEPRESSION
Title: Hippocampal gene expression in a rat model of depression after electroacupuncture at the Baihui and Yintang acupoints
Conclusion: “These results indicate that electroacupuncture at Baihui and Yintang modulates depression by regulating the expression of particular genes”
SHOULDER PAIN
Title: German Randomized Acupuncture Trial for chronic shoulder pain (GRASP) – a pragmatic, controlled, patient-blinded, multi-centre trial in an outpatient care environment.
Conclusion: “…The trial indicates that Chinese acupuncture is an effective alternative to conventional orthopaedic treatment for [Chronic Shoulder Pain]”
COSMETIC ACUPUNCTURE
Title: Effect of Facial Cosmetic Acupuncture on Facial Elasticity: An Open-Label, Single-Arm Pilot Study
Conclusion: “A significant improvement after [Facial cosmetic acupuncture] treatment was evident according to mean change in Moire topography criteria”
ALLERGIC RHINITIS (SINUS INFLAMMATION FROM ALLERGIES)
Title: Cost-effectiveness of acupuncture in women and men with allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled study in usual care.
Conclusion: “…Acupuncture, supplementary to routine care, was beneficial and, according to international benchmarks, cost-effective…”
LOW BACK PAIN
Title: German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for chronic low back pain: randomized, multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups.
Conclusion: “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.”
IBS
Title: Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: primary care based pragmatic randomised controlled trial
Conclusion: “Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome provided an additional benefit over usual care alone. The magnitude of the effect was sustained over the longer term. Acupuncture should be considered as a treatment option to be offered in primary care alongside other evidenced based treatments.”
HEADACHE
Title: Acupuncture in Patients with Headache
Conclusion: “… Acupuncture plus routine care in patients with headache was associated with marked clinical improvements compared with routine care alone.”
DYSMENORRHEA
Title: Acupuncture in patients with dysmenorrhea: a randomized study on clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in usual care.
Conclusion: “Additional acupuncture in patients with dysmenorrhea was associated with improvements in pain and quality of life as compared to treatment with usual care alone and was cost-effective within usual thresholds.”
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
Title: A randomized clinical trial of acupuncture versus oral steroids for carpal tunnel syndrome: a long-term follow-up.
Conclusion: “This article demonstrates that short-term acupuncture treatment may result in long-term improvement in mild-to-moderate idiopathic CTS. Acupuncture treatment can be considered as an alternative therapy to other conservative treatments for those who do not opt for early surgical decompression.”
NECK PAIN
Title: Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for neck pain: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Conclusion: “The quantitative meta-analysis conducted in this review confirmed the short-term effectiveness and efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of neck pain. Further studies that address the long-term efficacy of acupuncture for neck pain are warranted.”
ASTHMA
Title: Effect of acupuncture or acupressure on quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive asthma: a pilot study
Conclusion: “Patients with clinically stable, chronic obstructive asthma experienced clinically significant improvements in quality of life when their standard care was supplemented with acupuncture or acupressure.”
