Acupunctuur in Nederland
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Dhr A.G. Burgdorffer
Frederik Hendrikstraat 162
1052JG Amsterdam
www.acupuncturist-amsterdam.nl
Dhr L. d'Oliveira
Daguerrestraat 140
1087DJ Amsterdam
www.acupunctuur-japans.nl
Dhr Stephen Birch
Wg-Plein 330
1054SG Amsterdam
www.japaneseacupuncturecenter.com
Dhr W. Hoogenstrijd
Trompenburgstraat 131/133
1079TW Amsterdam
www.sfrbeweegt.nl
Mevr C. Tuinzaad
Pieter Calandlaan 101
1065KK Amsterdam
www.fysiotherapieslotervaart.nl
Mevr Dianne Sommers
Wg-Plein 330
1054SG Amsterdam
www.japaneseacupuncturecenter.com
Mevr L.J.M. Landman
Bloemgracht 138/HS
1015TR Amsterdam
www.acupunctuur-yoga.nl
Mevr M. Capousek
Fannius Scholtenstraat 24/HS
1051EX Amsterdam
www.acupunctuurnu.nl
Mevr R. van den Brink
Sarphatikade 22
1017WV Amsterdam
www.acupunctuurbrink.nl
Mw C. IJspaard
Gentiaanplein 21
1031AS Amsterdam
www.fysiotherapiegentiaanplein.nl
Mw H. Liu
Van Boshuizenstraat 415
1082AR Amsterdam
www.chineseacupunctuur.nl
René Goris
Haarlemmermeerstraat 114/116
1058KG Amsterdam
www.yingyangcentrum.com
Baas Acupunctuurpraktijk Renee
Opheusdenhof 87
1106TV Amsterdam Zuidoost
www.baasacupunctuur.nl
Dhr C.J. de Langen
Admiraal de Ruyterweg 43/A
3031AA Rotterdam
www.arthron.nl
Dhr. R. Rietveld
Ossenisseweg 121
3086KX Rotterdam
www.rietveldpraktijk.nl
Mw C.P.A. de Meijer
Hondiusstraat 34
3021NL Rotterdam
www.acupunctuur-rotterdam-west.nl
Mw Rian ter Horst-Adamse
Berberisweg 4
3053PJ Rotterdam
www.acupunctuurrianterhorst.nl
Paramedisch Centrum Hoogvliet
Marthalaan 16
3194EH Hoogvliet rt
www.pmch.nl
Ong M Arts
Marshallweg 43
3068JN Rotterdam
www.sfslingerland.nl
Acupunctuur Praktijk Integrale Geneeskunde
Nieuwe Binnenweg 109/B
3014GH Rotterdam
www.acupunctuurartsrotterdam.nl
Therapie Centrum Human Care
Hordijk 98
3079DK Rotterdam
www.praktijkhumancare.nl
Aartsen's Ba Zhang Centrum voor Acupunctuur
Bierstraat 103
3011XA Rotterdam
www.japanseacupunctuur.com
Spronkers Electro Acupunctuur
Granadoslaan 38
3055RB Rotterdam
www.natuurgeneeskunst.nl
Dhr A.P.N.M. Straver
Treslonglaan 19
2548RS 's-Gravenhage
www.cirkelzorg.nl
Irene Piët
Dirk Hoogenraadstraat 133
2586TG 's-Gravenhage
www.clinicirenepiet.nl
Mw A.Y. Marsman
Scheveningseweg 13
2517KS 's-Gravenhage
www.acupunctuur-denhaag.nl
Mw E. van Oosterzee
Laan van Meerdervoort 828
2564AR 's-Gravenhage
www.centrumvooract.nl
Tineke Lageveen
Edisonstraat 128
2561BJ 's-Gravenhage
www.tinekelageveen.nl
Korte W M de Lammers S I A
Bous de Jongpark 6
2283TH Rijswijk zh
www.fysiodekorte.nl
Meijer-Schallenberg dierenarts -
Acupunctuurpraktijk E M
Cornelis Jolstraat 85
2584EN 's-Gravenhage
www.acupunctuurbijdieren.nl
Chinese Acupunctuurpraktijk Yao
Weimarstraat 80
2562HA 's-Gravenhage
www.acupunctuuryao.nl
A-M-F -Praktijk Laan van Meerdervoort
Laan van Meerdervoort 622
2564AK 's-Gravenhage
www.amfpraktijk.nl
Aan de Laan
Ln van Nieuw Oost-Indie 256
2593CE 's-Gravenhage
www.aandelaan.nl
Oosterman Arts H S T C
Jan Bronnerstraat 101
2552WX 's-Gravenhage
www.praktijkoosterman.nl
Stoop Acupuncturist.nl
Oudwijkerdwarsstraat 50
3581LG Utrecht
www.acupuncturist.nl
Oriëntal Medicine
Bernadottelaan 6
3527GB Utrecht
www.ompraktijk.nl
Acupunctuur Praktijk Wittevrouwen
Poortstraat 85/87
3572HE Utrecht
www.praktijk-wittevrouwen.nl
Acupunctuur Lunetten Sylvia Jansen
Dolomieten 45
3524VE Utrecht
www.acupunctuur-lunetten.nl
Hwa Sheng Chinese Medical Center BV
Rijnlaan 54
3522BP Utrecht
www.hwasheng.nl
Kooten K W
Samuel van Houtenstraat 6
3515EA Utrecht
www.de-kraanvogel.nl
Coquita van der Harst Acupunctuur
Bernadottelaan 6/C
3527GB Utrecht
www.ompraktijk.nl
Hwa To Chinese Medical Center BV
Ondiep-zuidzijde 199
3551DN Utrecht
www.hwato.nl
Overige informatie
Pijnbestrijding met acupunctuur
Acupunctuur is een traditionele Chinese
geneeswijze, die teruggaat tot de prehistorie. De basisgedachte achter de acupunctuur is
dat er een levensenergie in de mens is, ‘Chi’, met twee polen, Yin en Yang. Deze
polen zijn in een gezond mens met elkaar in evenwicht. Wordt het evenwicht verstoord in
een bepaald orgaan (door een zogenaamde ‘perverse energie’ van buiten) dan wordt
de mens ziek. Het evenwicht kan hersteld worden door invloed uit te oefenen op de
energiestromen (meridianen) van en naar het orgaan, door bepaalde punten op die meridianen
te stimuleren. Deze stimulatie vindt in de traditionele acupunctuur plaats door naalden in
de huid te steken; het Nederlandse woord acupunctuur komt van acus, wat naald betekent, en
pungere, steken (Latijn). Een andere manier van traditioneel punten stimuleren is
moxibustie, waarbij onder een glazen stolpje kruiden worden verbrand op de huid. Een
modernere variant van puntenstimulatie is elektroacupunctuur, die bestaat uit het
toedienen van stroomstootjes door een elektrode op de huid te zetten. De plekken waarop de
stimulatie gebeurt, de acupunctuurpunten, zijn door ‘trial-and-error’ gevonden
in de lange geschiedenis van de acupunctuur, en in eerste instantie bij gebruik van
moxibustie. De theorie over de levensenergie ‘Chi’ en de meridianen is daar
waarschijnlijk uit voortgekomen.
Download
boek
Acupunctuur kan pijn verlichten bij
artritis in heup/knie
Uit een grote randomized studie op
patiënten met artritis in knie of heup blijkt dat acupunctuur aangevuld met normale zorg
de pijnklachten kan verminderen en verbetering van de kwaliteit van leven.
Link
Witt CM et al. "Acupuncture in
Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip: A Randomized, Controlled Trial With an
Additional Nonrandomized Arm." Arthritis & Rheumatism. 54;11: 3485-93.
Liu T and Liu C. "Acupuncture for Treating Osteoarthritis of the Knee and the
Hip." Arthritis & Rheumatism. 54;11: 3375-77.
Bonghan-buisjes - de fysieke basis
van acupunctuur?
Zuid-Koreaanse onderzoekers denken
recentelijk aanwijzingen gevonden te hebben voor het bestaan van fysieke structuren in de
lichamen van dieren, die corresponderen met de meridianen zoals beschreven in de
acupunctuur. Het gaat om miniscuul dunne "buisjes" die zich bevinden in de huid
en ook waargenomen zijn binnen bloedvaten en bij de belangrijke organen. De structuren
worden Bonghan ducts of Bonghan-buisjes genoemd, naar Bonghan Kim, een Noord-Koreaans
onderzoeker die al in de jaren '60 het bestaan van deze structuren claimde.
Recentelijk hebben drie onafhankelijk
werkende Zuid-Koreaanse onderzoeksgroepen met behulp van verschillende technieken bij
konijnen, varkens en ratten Bonghan-buisjes aangetroffen. In deze semi-transparante,
elastische buisjes bewegen zich, overeenkomstig de theorie van Bonghan Kim,
miniscuulkleine deeltjes die DNA bevatten. Zowel de buisjes als de deeltjes erin konden
zichtbaar gemaakt worden met behulp van moderne fluorescentietechnieken. Volgens de
onderzoekers blijkt uit histologisch onderzoek dat hier sprake is van geheel nieuwe
structuren, die verschillen van de bloedvaten, zenuwbanen en lymfevaten zoals bekend in de
anatomie en fysiologie. In bepaalde Bonghan-buisjes die in bloedvaten werden aangetroffen
werd waargenomen dat de deeltjes erin stroomden in een richting tegengesteld aan die van
het bloed. Als de beweringen van de Koreaanse onderzoekers juist blijken, zal de heersende
visie op het menselijk lichaam op de schop moeten. Wordt ongetwijfeld vervolgd.
Hieronder twee weblinks naar het
Engelstalige tijdschrift van de in Japan gevestigde International Society for Life
Information Science, dat in 2004 een minisymposium aan het onderzoek naar Bonghan-buisjes
wijdde:
http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/islis/en/journalE/abst222E.htm
http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/islis/en/journalE/abst231E.htm
Bron: http://www.vanpraaginstituut.nl/
De betekenis van acupunctuur in de
reguliere zorg
Auteur: Dr Kho
Url: http://www.drkho.com/
De behandeling van klachten en ziekten met
naalden (Zhenjiu) vormt een belangrijk onderdeel van de traditionele Chinese geneeswijzen
(TCG). De oudste geschriften van de TCG stammen uit de periode van Keizer Huangdi
(2697-2598 v.Chr).
De Nederlandse heelkundige W. ten Rhijne
introduceerde in 1683 de naam acupunctuur (acus = naald, puncture = prikken). In de TCG
gaat men ervan uit dat er binnen het lichaam een energie (qi) circulatie is. De qi
circuleert langs de denkbeeldige lijnen, die acupunctuurpunten met overeenkomstige
eigenschappen verbinden, de zgn. meridianen. Onder een acupunctuurpunt verstaat men een
scherp cilindrische opening van de bovenste laag van spieromhulsel van het lichaam met een
diameter van 2-8 mm omhuld door een laag bindweefsel waarbinnen een bundel van zenuwcelen
bloedvaten loopt.
Van belang voor de gezondheid is de
noodzaak dat de circulatie van qi ongestoord kan plaatsvinden. Klachten of ziekten
ontstaan volgens de TCG doordat de circulatie van qi in het lichaam op de een of andere
wijze verstoord raakt, waardoor van een evenwichtige qi circulatie niet meer gesproken kan
worden.
De behandeling bestaat uit het opheffen van
die situatie op plaatsen waar de qi circulatie geblokkeerd is.
Naar deze ogenschijnlijk simpele
werkhypothese van acupunctuur is in de laatste decennia's veel onderzoek verricht, zowel
fundamenteel als ook klinisch. Aanleiding hiervoor was de hernieuwde belangstelling voor
acupunctuur in samenhang met de introductie van acupunctuur als verdoving in de zeventiger
jaren van de vorige eeuw.
Kennis van de reguliere geneeskunde van
toen was ontoereikend om het fenomeen acupunctuur-verdoving te kunnen verklaren. Het
vermogen van de acupunctuur om pijn te stillen is vervolgens een onderwerp geworden van
systematische studies. Aldus heeft het fenomeen "acupunctuurverdoving" in de
zeventiger jaren, waarbij patiënten
gedurende verschillende grote ingrepen wakker zijn gebleven - ogenschijnlijk - zonder pijn
te voelen, mede aanleiding gegeven tot het enthousiasme over de studie van pijn en
pijnmechanismen en tot het bereikte resultaat van vandaag.
Internationaal heeft de
wereldgezondheidsorganisatie, de WHO, de bijdrage van de traditionele geneeswijzen binnen
de reguliere gezondheidszorg van vele lidstaten al lang onderkend. In 1991 heeft de World
Health Assembly een belangrijke resolutie, de WHA44.34, aangenomen. Daarin bepleit de WHO
haar lidstaten o.a. de samenwerking tussen de traditionele en de moderne geneeswijzen te
intensiveren, vooral de implementatie van wetenschappelijk al bewezen, veilige en
effectieve traditionele methoden, teneinde de alsmaar stijgende (nationale) kosten van
geneesmiddelen consumptie terug te dringen. Daarnaast beveelt de WHO de lidstaten aan
wetenschappelijk onderzoek op het gebied van de traditionele geneeswijzen te blijven
stimuleren: www.who.int.
Eveneens in de lijn van de WHO
aanbevelingen zij opgemerkt, dat de Amerikaanse Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) in 1996
acupunctuurnaalden uit de lijst van experimenteel medische instrumenten heeft doorgehaald.
De FDA onderschrijft het gebruik van acupunctuur als een effectieve behandelingsmethode
voor een aantal indicaties, zoals postoperatieve pijnbestrijding na tandheelkundige
ingrepen, misselijkheid en braken na anesthesie en chemotherapie. Voorts wijst de FDA op
dat acupunctuur effectief kan zijn bij de behandeling van diverse klachten zoals
tennisarm, migraine, artritis, periodieke buikkrampen en andere
chronisch pijnlijke condities.
Het valt te bezien op welke wijze de
Nederlandse overheid in de komende jaren bereid zou zijn de WHO resolutie te willen
implementeren, en hoe zij - uit praktisch oogpunt - de WHO aanbevelingen zal overnemen.
Het effectiviteitonderzoek van acupunctuur
zou kunnen betekenen dat de consumptie van geneesmiddelen op een verantwoorde wijze
teruggedrongen wordt. Het spreekt voor zich dat de farmaceutische industrie een dergelijk
onderzoek - in tegenstelling tot het geneesmiddelenonderzoek - noch toejuicht noch
financieel ondersteunt. De
overheid is de meest aangewezen en geëigende instantie het onderzoek te ondersteunen.
Binnen dit context ligt het in de lijn der verwachting dat de universitaire gemeenschap in
de zin van een hiervoor op te richten vakgroep het onderzoek ter hand zal nemen.
INDICATIE
Hoewel het meeste onderzoek in de acupunctuur betrekking heeft op het pijnstillende effect
- de acupunctuur-analgesie (AA) - is het een misvatting te veronderstellen dat acupunctuur
slechts geschikt is om pijnklachten te doen verminderen. Als het belangrijkste onderdeel
van de TCG bestrijkt het indicatiegebied van de acupunctuur niet alleen het verhogen van
de pijndrempel, maar ook de behandeling van diverse andere klachten. Naar de reguliere
geneeskunde vertaald, is het basisprincipe van het Yin-Yang evenwicht van acupunctuur
hetzelfde als het in balans zijnde orthosympatische en het parasympathische zenuwstelsel,
de twee tegenovergestelde componenten van het autonome zenuwstelsel.
Overheerst de ene component dan krijgt men
overeenkomstige klachten. De reguliere geneeskunde vertrouwt op het effect van de
allopathische middelen om het verstoorde evenwicht te herstellen. Acupunctuur tracht door
het benaderen van een bepaalde puntencombinatie hetzelfde te bereiken. Evenals de
reguliere geneeskunde is de TCG een ervaring geneeswijze (practice based). Op basis van de
resultaten van het onderzoek (evidence based) kan men in grote lijnen de indicatie voor
acupunctuur in de navolgende volgorde indelen:
1. als een behandelingsmethode bij acute pijn
2. als een behandelingsmethode bij chronische pijnklachten
3. als geneeswijze
Acupunctuur Analgesie in en buiten China
Allereerst dient de essentiële vraag te worden beantwoord of acupunctuur
daadwerkelijk een analgesie teweeg zou brengen. Aanleiding hiertoe was de introductie van
de acupunctuur als een nieuwe anesthesietechniek in China in 1958: de klassieke
acupunctuuranesthesie (KAA). Patiënten bleven gedurende de ingreep bij bewustzijn. Bij
geselecteerde patiënten kan de KAA eveneens in de westerse operatiekamer worden
toegepast. In diverse experimenten bij mensen in verschillende laboratoria kon vervolgens
het analgetische effect van de acupunctuur ondubbelzinnig worden aangetoond. Dierproeven
hebben bovendien het effect van de acupunctuur op verhoging van de pijndrempel bevestigd.
De conclusie ligt voor de hand dat KAA reproduceerbaar is en dat de acupunctuur in staat
is de pijndrempel te verhogen.
Bestrijding van acute pijn
De tweede essentiële vraag, die vervolgens aan de orde komt, is op welke wijze
het pijnstillende effect van acupunctuur tot stand kan komen. Anders gezegd: hoe brengt de
acupunctuur het pijnstillende effect tot stand?
Het vermoeden dat er door de stimulatie van
de acupunctuurpunten opiaatachtige stoffen in toenemende hoeveelheden worden geproduceerd
werd bevestigd na de ontdekking van de morfinereceptoren in de hersenen in 1972 en na het
identificeren van lichaamseigen pijnstillende stoffen in 1975. Talloze experimenten laten
voorts ondubbelzinnig zien langs welke structuren van het perifere en centrale
zenuwstelsel (CZS) de door ingebrachte acupunctuurnaalden opgewekte stimulatie-impulsen de
pijnremmende-systemen kunnen activeren: hetzij rechtstreeks hetzij door de vrijmaking van
verschillende chemische stoffen in de hersenen, de zogenaamde neuronmodulatoren.
Zowel de opiaatachtige- evenals de
niet-opiaatachtige antipijnsystemen zijn betrokken bij het tot stand komen van acupunctuur
analgesie (AA). Door de stimulatiefrequentie te veranderen kunnen bovendien de gewenste
lichaamseigen pijnstillende stoffen (ß-endorfinen, dynorfinen en/of enkefalinen) in
het CZS worden vrijgemaakt. Daarmee is een aspect van de acupunctuur - de
acupunctuur-analgesie - zowel rationeel als wetenschappelijk verklaarbaar. De
systematische, grondige en uitputtende wijze waarop AA wetenschappelijk is onderzocht is
uniek te noemen voor een behandelingsmethode die alternatief is. Zelfs in de reguliere
geneeskunde is het niet voorgekomen dat een bepaalde behandeltechniek op een dergelijk
systematische wijze is onderzocht. Men kan stellen dat de AA, mits juist wordt toegepast,
thans een definitieve plaats heeft binnen de reguliere geneeskunde, en vooral in het
vakgebied anesthesiologie, bij de bestrijding van acute pijn.
Bestrijding van chronische pijn
Het activeren van lichaamseigen pijnremmende systemen kan een acute pijnconditie
snel bestrijden. Het is echter niet eenvoudig te verklaren op welke wijze kortdurende en
herhaalde stimulatie van acupunctuurpunten in een behandelingsfrequentie van een of twee
keer in de week de chronische pijn voor weken, maanden of zelfs voor altijd doet
verdwijnen. Activatie van de opiaatachtige pijnremmende systemen spelen zeker een rol bij
verlichting van chronische pijn, hoewel de werking van de lichaamseigen
pijnstillende stoffen slechts kort is. Er moet dus meer aan de hand zijn gezien het
aanhoudende en langdurige effect. Bij herhaalde toediening van een locale verdoving treedt
overigens het identieke fenomeen.
De chronische pijn verdwijnt langdurig dan
op grond van de werking van de toegediende locale verdoving kan worden verklaard. In beide
gevallen zou de plooibaarheid of de plasticiteit van de zenuwcellen reden kunnen zijn
waarom chronische pijn langdurig wegblijft na herhaalde acupunctuur
behandeling of na herhaalde toediening van een locale verdoving.
Toepassing acupunctuur als
geneeswijze
Vele klachten of ziekten die niets met pijn te maken te hebben worden genoemd om
met acupunctuur te worden behandeld. Doel hiervan is herstel van de niet in balans zijnde
componenten van het autonome zenuwstelsel, een verbetering van de (lokale) doorbloeding en
het minimaliseren van de ongunstige invloed van emotionele factoren. Meer en meer
onderzoekscentra in het westen, o.a. het Zweedse Karolinska Instituut voeren de
effectiviteitstudies uit. Immers, alleen op deze wijze zou kunnen blijken of acupunctuur
bij de behandeling van bepaalde klachten dan wel ziekten waardevol kan zijn.
Aangetoond is voorts dat onder andere:
a. de overlevingsduur van een minder
doorbloed spiertransplantaat na acupunctuurbehandeling toeneemt
b. acupunctuur in vergelijking met allopatische middelen even effectief is bij de
behandeling van misselijkheid en braken, veroorzaakt door anesthesie en operatie, bij
vroege zwangerschap en of door chemotherapie.
c. acupunctuur effectief is gebleken bij de behandeling van incontinentie als gevolg van
de blaas instabiliteit.
Indien uit meerdere studies geconcludeerd
is dat acupunctuur effectief is bij behandeling van bepaalde klachten is de volgende stap
aan de orde, namelijk op welke wijze is het effect tot stand is gekomen. Daarvoor dient
men dezelfde systematische wegen te bewandelen als bij het ontrafelen van hoe het
pijnstillende effect van acupunctuur bij bestrijding van acute pijn geschiedt.
Samengevat kan het volgende worden
geconstateerd. Na duizenden jaar ontwikkeling van acupunctuur als onderdeel van de
traditionele Chinese geneeswijze, is deze geneeswijze uitgegroeid tot een belangrijke
behandelmethode zowel in China als in het Westen. Door een systematisch onderzoek is men
achter gekomen op welke wijze een manuele stimulatie van een in de huid ingestoken
acupunctuurnaald het pijnstillende effect teweeg kan brengen. Meer en meer effecten
studies laten zien dat
acupunctuur waardevol kan zijn bij de behandeling van klachten en/of ziekten. Het wordt
ingezien dat de traditionele Chinese geneeskunde een verrijking van de reguliere
geneeskunde kan betekenen.
Acupunctuur helpt redelijk tegen
nekpijn
Dat blijkt uit een omvangrijke analyse van
bestaande studies. Op de korte termijn vermindert het de klachten met zo'n dertig procent.
De analyse verscheen gisteren in The Cochrane Library, een invloedrijk bestand voor
evidence-based medicine geneeskunde die op wetenschappelijk bewijs gestoeld is. De auteurs
gebruikten de tien studies die van voldoende kwaliteit waren. Over de
lange-termijneffecten van acupunctuur bij nekpijn (langer dan drie maanden na de
behandeling) konden ze geen uitspraak doen omdat er geen goed onderzoek naar is gedaan. De
onafhankelijke Cochrane Collaboration, die analyses van dit type organiseert, vond al
eerder aanwijzingen dat acupunctuur vooral op korte termijn helpt bij pijnklachten, zoals
chronische lage rugpijn, schouderpijn of onverklaarde hoofdpijn. Voor veel andere
aandoeningen, van depressie tot tabaksverslaving of astma, is het nut van acupunctuur niet
aangetoond.
Link
Acupuncture Pins Down Allergy
Relief
At the end of the study period, participants in both groups were rated on their level of
improvement. The first group treated with traditional Chinese medicine patients
demonstrated improvements in allergy symptoms in the eyes and nose, higher levels of
physical activity, and an improved psychological condition compared to patients in the
control group.
Link
Hypnosis and Acupuncture Show
Promise for Labor Pain
A review of non-drug pain relief therapies suggests that hypnosis and acupuncture may ease
labor pain. “There is too little research to assess how effective many complementary
therapies will be with pain management in labor,” said lead study author Caroline
Smith. Further research is needed, she said, but “the results concerning acupuncture
and hypnosis are encouraging.” In addition to hypnosis and acupuncture, the review
examined the effects of massage, relaxation, aromatherapy, acupressure and white noise on
pain relief. But the review did not turn up enough evidence to determine if any of the
other therapies bring women significant comfort. The meta-analysis compiles data from 14
studies that included more than 1,400 women. Five studies examined hypnosis, while three
studies gauged acupuncture’s effect on pain relief. “More robust research and
more research trials have been undertaken for these two therapies versus the other
treatments,” said Smith, a research fellow at the University of Adelaide in
Australia. The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication
of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in
all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about
medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a
topic.
Link
Acupuncture Relieves Pain and Improves
Function in Knee Osteoarthritis
Acupuncture provides pain relief and improves function for people with osteoarthritis
of the knee and serves as an effective complement to standard care. This landmark study
was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and
the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), both
components of the National Institutes of Health.
Link
Acupuncture or neuro-electric
stimulation
Traditional Chinese acupuncture is an archaic procedure in which needles are inserted
through the skin over imaginary channels in accord with rules developed from
pre-scientific superstition and numerological beliefs. The needles are manipulated to
supposedly influence an imaginary body energy whose blockage is presumed to create
diseases that are diagnosed and defined in a manner antithetical to modern medical
knowledge. New information from research by Chinese scientists has replaced this mystical
sham medical procedure with a simple, evidence-based, no-needle treatment. This method
stimulates motor points and nerve junctures. Specific electrical currents induce the gene
expression of neurochemicals and activate brain areas important for healing. Here then is
a scientifically based alternative to the metaphysical theories and magical rituals of
traditional Chinese acupuncture.
Link
Acupuncture - beyond the placebo effect
Researchers at the University of Southampton and University College London have shown
for the first time that the impact of acupuncture goes beyond the acknowledged placebo
effect caused by the patient's own expectation of feeling benefit from the treatment. The
scientists from Southampton, Dr George Lewith and Dr Peter White of the University's
Complementary Medicine Research Unit, have distinguished between the placebo effects
produced by a patient's expectation and the real effects of treatment in a group of
patients with painful osteo-arthritis, by monitoring specific responses in the brain
during treatment.
Link
Acupuncture treatment may be
more effective than conventional therapy in treating lower back pain
Six months of acupuncture treatment appears
to be more effective than conventional therapy in treating low back pain, according to a
study in the Sept. 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals, although the study suggests that both sham acupuncture and traditional Chinese
verum acupuncture appear to be effective in treating low back pain. “Low back pain is
a common, impairing and disabling condition, often long-term, with an estimated lifetime
prevalence of 70 percent to 85 percent,” the authors write as background information
in the article. “It is the second most common pain for which physician treatment is
sought and a major reason for absenteeism and disability.” Acupuncture is
increasingly used as an alternative therapy, but its value as a treatment for low back
pain is still controversial.
Michael Haake, Ph.D., M.D., of the
University of Regensburg, Bad Abbach, Germany, and colleagues conducted a randomized
clinical trial involving 1,162 patients (average age 50) who had experienced chronic low
back pain for an average of eight years. Patients underwent ten 30-minute sessions
(approximately two sessions per week) of verum acupuncture (387 patients), sham
acupuncture (387 patients) or conventional therapy (388 patients). Verum acupunture
consisted of needling fixed points and additional points to a depth of 5 millimeters to 40
millimeters based on traditional Chinese medicine, while sham acupuncture consisted of
inserting needles superficially (1 millimeter to 3 millimeters) into the lower back
avoiding all known verum points or meridians. Conventional therapy consisted of a
combination of medication, physical therapy and exercise. Five additional sessions were
offered to those who had a partial response to treatment (10 percent to 50 percent pain
reduction).
“A total of 13,475 treatment sessions
were conducted (verum acupuncture, 4,821; sham acupuncture, 4,590; conventional therapy,
4,064),” the authors write. Patients receiving the additional five sessions were 232
(59.9 percent) in the verum group, 209 (54.3 percent) in the sham group and 192 (52.5
percent) in the conventional group.
Response rate was defined as a 33 percent
improvement in pain or a 12 percent improvement in functional ability. “At six
months, response rate was 47.6 percent in the verum acupuncture group, 44.2 percent in the
sham acupuncture group and 27.4 percent in the conventional therapy group,” the
authors note. “Differences among groups were as follows: verum vs. sham, 3.4 percent;
verum vs. conventional therapy, 20.2 percent; and sham vs. conventional therapy, 16.8
percent.”
“The superiority of both forms of
acupuncture suggests a common underlying mechanism that may act on pain generation,
transmission of pain signals or processing of pain signals by the central nervous system
and that is stronger than the action mechanism of conventional therapy,” the authors
conclude. “Acupuncture gives physicians a promising and effective treatment option
for chronic low back pain, with few adverse effects or contraindications. The improvements
in all primary and secondary outcome measures were significant and lasted long after
completion of treatment.”
(Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(17):1892-1898
Acupuncture is as effective as
standard drug treatments for migraine
There are several effective drug treatments
available for the prophylaxis of migraine. However, despite poor evidence from randomised
controlled trials, acunpuncture is the most frquently used preventive therapy for migraine
in Germany. In their Article, Hans-Christoph Diener (University Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
and colleagues present the results of the German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) migraine
study. In this prospective, randomised, multicentre, controlled clinical trial they showed
that the number of days on which a patient suffered from migraine was significantly
reduced after treatment with either acupuncture or standard therapy. However, the
improvement was the same whether the patient was treated with a sham acupuncture
technique, which was done on areas of the skin in which no traditional Chinese medicine
acupuncture points are known; verum acupuncture, which consisted of obligatory needling
points and additional points individually chosen by the physicians on the basis of
traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis for syndromes; or standard migraine prophylactic
treatment. These results are surprising and, since the underlying mechanisms are unknown,
difficult to explain. "Ultimately, one could argue that the efficacy of a treatment,
especially a treatment with almost no adverse events or contraindications, is more
important than the knowledge of the mechanism of action of this particular therapy",
concludes Diener. "The decision whether acupuncture should be used in migraine
prevention remains with the treating physician."
Acupuncture found to lower
elevations in blood pressure
Acupuncture treatments using low levels of
electrical stimulation can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 50 percent,
researchers at the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine have found.
In tests on rats, the researchers found that electroacupuncture treatments provided
temporary relief from the conditions that raise blood pressure during hypertensive states.
Such treatments, they believe, potentially can become part of a therapeutic regimen for
long-term care of hypertension and other cardiovascular ailments in people. "This
study suggests that acupuncture can be an excellent complement to other medical
treatments, especially for those treating the cardiac system," said Dr. John C.
Longhurst, director of the Samueli Center and study leader. "The Western world is
waiting for a clear scientific basis for using acupuncture, and we hope that this research
ultimately will lead to the integration of ancient healing practices into modern medical
treatment."
The study appears in the March issue of the
Journal of Applied Physiology.
Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old form of
Chinese medicine that involves inserting needles at specific points on the body to help
cure disease or relieve pain. In previous studies, Longhurst and his UCI colleagues have
identified at the cellular and molecular level how acupuncture excites brain cells to
release neurotransmitters that either inhibit or heighten cardiovascular activity. They
have found that when an acupuncture needle is inserted at specific sites on the wrist,
inside of the forearm or leg, this triggers the release of opioid chemicals in the brain
that reduce excitatory responses in the cardiovascular system. This decreases the heart's
activity and its need for oxygen, which in turn can lower blood pressure, and promotes
healing for a number of cardiac ailments, such as myocardial ischemia (insufficient blood
flow to the heart) and hypertension.
In this study, the Longhurst team applied
acupuncture to specific points on the forelimb of test rats with artificially elevated
blood pressure rates; these same sites on humans are on the inside of the forearm slightly
above the wrist. The researchers found that acupuncture alone had no effect on blood
pressure. uch as 40 to 50 percent. Overall, the researchers found that a 30-minute
treatment reduced blood pressure rates in these test rats by 25 mmHg -- with the effect
lasting almost two hours."This type of electroacupuncture is only effective on
elevated blood pressure levels, such as those present in hypertension, and the treatment
has no impact on standing blood pressure rates," said Longhurst, a cardiologist who
is also the Lawrence K. Dodge Professor in Integrative Biology. "Our goal is to help
establish a standard of acupuncture treatment that can benefit everyone who has
hypertension and other cardiac ailments." Longhurst and his colleagues currently are
testing this electroacupuncture treatment metho
Next, they added electrical stimulation to
the acupuncture treatment by running an electrical current through the needles. High
frequencies of stimulation also had no effect, but low frequencies lowered increased blood
pressure by as m
d in an ongoing human study.
Acupuncture better than drugs
alone for osteoarthritis of the knee
Acupuncture as a complementary therapy to
the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: randomised controlled trial
BMJ Volume 329 pp 1216-9. Acupuncture, as a complementary therapy to drug treatment for
osteoarthritis of the knee, is more effective than drug treatment alone, find researchers
from Spain in this week's BMJ. Osteoarthritis of the knee is common, affecting
almost a tenth of the population aged over 55. The role of acupuncture in osteoarthritis
remains controversial and few studies comparing acupuncture and drug treatment have been
conducted. A total of 88 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly divided
into two groups, one receiving acupuncture plus diclofenac (an anti-inflammatory drug) and
the other dummy (placebo) acupuncture plus diclofenac. Treatment lasted 12 weeks and
levels of pain, stiffness, and physical function were monitored using recognised scales.
The acupuncture group had a greater reduction in pain and stiffness, improved physical
functioning and quality of life than the placebo group. Although the 12-week monitoring
period may be insufficient to evaluate the effects of treatment in the medium term,
acupuncture as a complementary therapy to drug treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee is
more effective than drug treatment alone, say the authors. Future research should extend
the observation period after treatment in order to evaluate the duration of the
improvement obtained and to establish treatment protocols, they conclude.
New report indicates acupuncture
provides relief for sufferers of dry mouth
The emergence of acupuncture is allowing
some patients to relieve or significantly reduce dry mouth's debilitating effects,
according to a report in the May/June 2005 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of
General Dentistry's (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal. Dry mouth (also known as
xerostomia) is a painful condition caused by a decrease in the amount of saliva in the
mouth when salivary glands do not work properly. Saliva is a natural defense for teeth and
plays a major role in preventing tooth decay by rinsing away food particles and
neutralizing harmful acids. A decrease in saliva puts patients at risk for cavities, gum
disease and discomfort since foods that are consumed adhere to the teeth longer. Dry mouth
can be caused by medications like antihistamines, decongestants, antidepressants and
diuretics and can often be treated by the dentist. The quality of life of patients
suffering from dry mouth is often profoundly impaired. Symptoms include extensive dental
decay, infections of the tissues of the mouth, difficulty in speaking, eating and
swallowing, ulceration or soreness of the mouth, an altered sense of taste and difficulty
in wearing dentures.However, "typical treatment options for dry mouth have been
short-term at best," according to Warren M. Morganstein, DDS, MPH, and associate dean
at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, University of Maryland Dental School.
"Studies have found that acupuncture was a viable option to successfully treat dry
mouth pain in patients and provide long-term relief." After undergoing head and neck
radiation therapy, seven patients with dry mouth were treated using acupuncture. Patients
were seen once a week for four to five weeks, followed by two or three biweekly sessions.
Dr. Morganstein found that eight months after treatment, all patients reported a reduction
in dry mouth symptoms, as well as an increase in saliva flow and the ability to eat and
speak, and improved sleep. In the United States, acupuncture is performed primarily by
licensed, non-physician acupuncturists. Additionally, physicians and a small number of
dentists have been trained in medical acupuncture. Acupuncture is effective in increasing
the amount of saliva and, by doing so, alleviating or decreasing the symptoms of dry
mouth.
Acupuncture relieves pelvic pain
during pregnancy
Effects of acupuncture and stabilising
exercises as adjunct to standard treatment in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain:
randomised single blind controlled trial BMJ Online First Acupuncture and strengthening
exercises help relieve pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy and are effective complements
to standard treatment, finds a study published online by the BMJ today. Pelvic
girdle pain is a common complaint among pregnant women worldwide, but no cure exists.
Researchers in Sweden identified 386 pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain. Women were
randomly divided into three groups; one received standard treatment (a pelvic belt and a
home exercise programme), another received standard treatment plus acupuncture, and the
third received standard treatment plus stabilising exercises to improve mobility and
strength. Pain levels were recorded every morning and evening using a recognised scale and
all women were assessed by an independent examiner at the end of the treatment period.
After treatment, both the acupuncture group and the stabilising exercise group had less
pain than the standard group in the morning and in the evening. Reduction of pelvic girdle
pain as assessed by the independent examiner was greatest in the acupuncture group.
Acupuncture or stabilising exercises as an adjunct to standard treatment offers clear
clinical advantages over standard treatment alone for reduction of pain in pregnant women
with pelvic girdle pain, say the authors. Acupuncture was superior to stabilising
exercises in this study, they conclude.
Acupuncture more effective than
massage for chronic neck pain
Randomised trial of acupuncture compared
with conventional massage and "sham" laser acupuncture for treatment of chronic
neck pain Acupuncture is an effective short term treatment for patients with chronic neck
pain, but there is only limited evidence for its long term effects after five treatments,
concludes research in this week's BMJ. A total of 177 patients with chronic neck pain were
randomly allocated to five treatments over three weeks. Fifty-six patients received needle
acupuncture, 60 were given conventional massage, and 61 received "sham" laser
acupuncture (a dummy procedure to control for acupuncture).One week after treatments, the
acupuncture group showed a significantly greater improvement in motion related pain
compared with massage but, surprisingly, not compared with sham laser acupuncture.
However, after three months follow up, there were no significant differences in mobility
and pain between the groups. This is consistent with previous trials that show that a
single treatment approach in chronic pain does not result in long term effects in the
majority of cases, add the authors. We conclude that acupuncture can be an effective and
safe form of treatment for patients with chronic neck pain, say the authors. However, as
neck pain may be a chronic condition, single forms of treatment may not always be
adequate. Future research is necessary to evaluate the optimum number of acupuncture
treatments for the management of these patients.
Acupuncture relieves symptoms of
fibromyalgia, Mayo Clinic study finds
Evidence suggests acupuncture reduces the
symptoms of fibromyalgia, according to a Mayo Clinic study. Fibromyalgia is a disorder
considered disabling by many, and is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal
pain and symptoms such as fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep disturbance. No cure is known
and available treatments are only partially effective. Mayo's study involved 50
fibromyalgia patients enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial to determine if
acupuncture improved their symptoms. Symptoms of patients who received acupuncture
significantly improved compared with the control group, according to the study published
in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "The results of the study convince me
there is something more than the placebo effect to acupuncture," says David Martin,
M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the acupuncture article and a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist.
"It affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique
is helpful for patients." Increasingly, patients are interested in pursuing
complementary medicine techniques in conjunction with their mainstream medical care, Dr.
Martin says. But often, such techniques lack scientific evidence to justify a patient's
expense and time. The study lends credence to patients' belief that nontraditional methods
may improve their health. In Mayo's trial, patients who received acupuncture to counter
their fibromyalgia symptoms reported improvement in fatigue and anxiety, among other
symptoms. Acupuncture was well tolerated, with minimal side effects. Mayo's acupuncture
study is one of only three randomized and controlled studies involving fibromyalgia
patients. Of the other studies, one found acupuncture to be helpful, while the other
reported it was ineffective for pain relief. Dr. Martin says Mayo's study demonstrates
that acupuncture is helpful, and also proves physicians can conduct a rigorous, controlled
acupuncture study. Future research could help physicians understand which medical
conditions respond best to acupuncture, how to apply it to best relieve symptoms, and how
long patients can expect to their symptoms to decrease after each treatment.
New relief for morning sickness
Research from the Women’s and
Children’s Hospital and Adelaide University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
has now shown that acupuncture is an extremely effective treatment for morning sickness in
early pregnancy. A large trial was undertaken involving 593 women who were less than 14
weeks pregnant with symptoms of nausea or vomiting. Twenty-minute sessions of acupuncture
were given weekly for four weeks. Study Coordinator Dr Caroline Smith says, “Around
50 to 80% of all pregnant women experience nausea or vomiting in early pregnancy. As a
result they can have poor quality of life – they feel lousy and may be low in
spirits, anxious and find it hard to do everyday things. “Our results have shown that
as little as one acupuncture treatment can significantly change the way these women feel.
“We found that traditional acupuncture reduced nausea throughout the trial with dry
retching being reduced from the second week. Another type of acupuncture called p6 took
around a week longer to have an effect, “ Dr Smith says. Traditional acupuncture uses
a variety of acupuncture points on the forearm or abdomen, whereas p6 acupuncture involves
only one acupuncture point classically associated with nausea and vomiting. Dr Smith
believes this research is particularly important as it provides good quality evidence for
a complementary therapy. “Women now have an additional option to manage their morning
sickness. They function physically and emotionally much better after both types of
acupuncture. “I hope this exciting evidence that complementary therapy does work,
will open up new opportunities for funding future research in women’s health,”
Dr Smith says.
Scientists trial device to treat
chemotherapy-related nausea
Trials to test acupressure wrist bands as a drug-free alternative for chemotherapy-related
nausea are to take place at the University of Liverpool. More than 75% of patients
undergoing chemotherapy experience nausea, which can impact negatively on their quality of
life. Acupressure wrist bands can reduce the symptoms of travel sickness by applying force
to the Nei Kuan pressure point on each wrist. The national study of more than 700
patients, at nine NHS cancer centres, will now measure the cost and clinical effectiveness
of acupressure wrist bands in reducing and controlling chemotherapy-related nausea. Led by
Professor Mari Lloyd-Williams, from the University’s Academic Palliative and
Supportive Care Studies Group, the team will analyse a wide range of patients, diagnosed
with different types of cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, in order to discover which
patient groups would most benefit from the intervention. Professor Lloyd-Williams said:
“Developments in anti-emetic drugs – used to combat nausea and vomiting –
have decreased the symptoms suffered by chemotherapy patients but nausea remains a
debilitating and poorly controlled symptom. “Patients rank nausea and vomiting
amongst the most distressing side effects of chemotherapy. In some cases, poorly
controlled symptoms can lead to patients choosing to stop potentially curative treatment.
These symptoms can contribute towards a loss of social life, prevent people from working,
and lead to anxiety and depression.
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Acupuncture may hold promise for
women with hormone disorder
Getting pregnant with her first child was difficult, but when Rebecca Killmeyer of
Charlottesville, Va., experienced a miscarriage during her second pregnancy, she wasn't
sure if she would ever have another baby. When she decided to enter a study testing the
impact of acupuncture on women with polycystic ovary syndrome at the University of
Virginia Health System, she came out with a miracle.
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Electroacupuncture at PC6 may
decrease frequency of transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation
New research shows that electroacupuncture at PC6 may decrease the frequency of transient
lower esophageal sphincter relaxation, which is the main mechanism underlying
gastroesophageal reflux disease. This effect appears to act at the brain stem, and may be
mediated through NO, CCK-A and mu-opioid receptors.
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Acupuncture reduces pain, need for
opioids after surgery
Using acupuncture before and during surgery significantly reduces the level of pain and
the amount of potent painkillers needed by patients after the surgery is over, according
to Duke University Medical Center anesthesiologists who combined data from 15 small
randomized acupuncture clinical trials.
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Acupuncture wristbands Ease Nausea
with Cancer Treatment
Cancer patients who wore acupressure wristbands had much less nausea while receiving
radiation treatment, making the bands a safe, low-cost addition to anti-nausea medication,
according to a study in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management by University of
Rochester Medical Center researchers. Previous research has suggested that the placebo
effect – essentially, an outcome related to your body that you expect to happen
– might be why elastic wristbands reduce nausea. However, the findings of the latest
study do not support that notion, even though researchers continue to believe in the
mind’s powerful influence over symptoms. “We know the placebo effect exists, the
problem is that we don’t know how to measure it very well,” said Joseph A.
Roscoe, Ph.D., corresponding author and research associate professor at the James P.
Wilmot Cancer Center at URMC. “In this study we attempted to manipulate the
information we gave to patients, to see if their expectations about nausea could be
changed. As it turned out, our information to change people’s expectations had no
effect – but we still found that the wristbands reduce nausea symptoms.” The
clinical trial enrolled 88 people divided into three groups. All had reported some degree
of nausea after receiving at least two radiation treatments for any type of cancer.
Although chemotherapy is more closely linked with producing nausea and vomiting, radiation
to the intestinal tract can also cause nausea, Roscoe said.
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For Women With PCOS, Acupuncture
And Exercise May Bring Relief, Reduce Risks
Exercise and electro-acupuncture treatments can reduce sympathetic nerve activity in women
with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), according to a new study. The finding is
important because women with PCOS often have elevated sympathetic nerve activity, which
plays a role in hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease
The study also found that the electro-acupuncture treatments led to more regular menstrual
cycles, reduced testosterone levels and reduced waist circumference. Exercise had no
effect on the irregular or non-existent menstrual cycles that are common among women with
PCOS, nor did it reduce waist circumference. However, exercise did lead to reductions in
weight and body mass index. “The findings that low-frequency electro-acupuncture and
exercise decrease sympathetic nerve activity in women with PCOS indicates a possible
alternative non-pharmacologic approach to reduce cardiovascular risk in these
patients,” said one of the researchers, Dr. Elisabet Stener-Victorin of the
University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The findings regarding menstrual cycles and decrease in
testosterone levels in the low-frequency electro-acupuncture are also of interest,
according to the researcher. The study, “Low-frequency electro-acupuncture and
physical exercise decrease high muscle sympathetic nerve activity in polycystic ovary
syndrome” was conducted by Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Elizabeth Jedel, Per Olof Janson
and Vrsa Bergmann Sverrisdottir, all of the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg,
Sweden and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. The study is in the online edition
of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology,
published by The American Physiological Society.
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Acupressure calms children before
surgery
An acupressure treatment applied to children undergoing anesthesia noticeably lowers their
anxiety levels and makes the stress of surgery more calming for them and their families,
UC Irvine anesthesiologists have learned. According to Dr. Zeev Kain, anesthesiology and
perioperative care chair, and his Yale University collaborator Dr. Shu-Ming Wang, this
noninvasive, drug-free method is an effective, complementary anxiety-relief therapy for
children during surgical preparation. Sedatives currently used before anesthesia can cause
nausea and prolong sedation. “Anxiety in children before surgery is bad because of
the emotional toll on the child and parents, and this anxiety can lead to prolonged
recovery and the increased use of analgesics for postoperative pain,” said Kain, who
led the acupressure study. “What’s great about the use of acupressure is that it
costs very little and has no side effects.”
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Acupuncture Eases Radiation-Induced
Dry Mouth in Cancer Patients
Twice weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia - severe
dry mouth - among patients treated with radiation for head and neck cancer, researchers
from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the current online
issue of Head & Neck. Xerostomia develops after the salivary glands have been exposed
to repeated doses of therapeutic radiation. People who have cancers of the head and neck
typically receive large cumulative doses, rendering the salivary glands incapable of
producing adequate saliva, said Mark S. Chambers, M.S., D.M.D., a professor in the
Department of Dental Oncology. Saliva substitutes, lozenges and chewing gum bring only
temporary relief, and the commonly prescribed medication, pilocarpine, has short-lived
benefits and bothersome side effects of its own. "The quality of life in patients
with radiation-induced xerostomia is profoundly impaired," said Chambers, the study's
senior author. "Symptoms can include altered taste acuity, dental decay, infections
of the tissues of the mouth, and difficulty with speaking, eating and swallowing.
Conventional treatments have been less than optimal, providing short-term response at
best." M. Kay Garcia, LAc, Dr.P.H., a clinical nurse specialist and acupuncturist in
M. D. Anderson's Integrative Medicine Program and the study's first author, noted that
patients with xerostomia may also develop nutritional deficits that can become
irreversible.
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Acupuncture treats
pregnancy-related heartburn
A new study finds acupuncture helps alleviate indigestion and heartburn - complications
commonly experienced in pregnant women.
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Real and Simulated Acupuncture
Appear More Effective Than Usual Care for Back Pain
Three types of acupuncture therapy—an individually tailored program, standard therapy
and a simulation involving toothpicks at key acupuncture points—appear more effective
than usual care for chronic low back pain, according to a report in the May 11 issue of
Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.Back pain costs Americans
at least $37 billion annually, according to background information in the article. Many
patients with this condition are unsatisfied with traditional medical care and seek help
from complementary and alternative care providers, including acupuncturists. "Back
pain is the leading reason for visits to licensed acupuncturists, and medical
acupuncturists consider acupuncture an effective treatment for back pain," the
authors write. Several recent studies have suggested that simulated acupuncture, or
shallow needling on parts of the body not considered key acupuncture points, appear as
effective as acupuncture involving penetrating the skin. To expand on these results,
Daniel C. Cherkin, Ph.D., of Group Health Center for Health Studies, Seattle, and
colleagues compared four different types of treatment in a randomized clinical trial
involving 638 adults (average age 47) with chronic low back pain at Group Health in
Seattle and Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland. During the seven-week
treatment period, 157 participants received 10 acupuncture treatments in a manner
individually prescribed by a diagnostic acupuncturist; 158 underwent a standardized course
of acupuncture treatments considered effective by experts for low back pain; 162 received
10 sessions of simulated acupuncture, in which practitioners used a toothpick inside of an
acupuncture needle guide tube to mimic the insertion, stimulation and removal of needles;
and 161 received usual care. Participants reported changes in their symptoms and in the
amount of dysfunction caused by their back pain by phone after eight, 26 and 52 weeks.
"Compared with usual care, individualized acupuncture, standardized acupuncture and
simulated acupuncture had beneficial and persisting effects on chronic back pain,"
the authors write. At the eight-week follow-up, 60 percent of the participants receiving
any type of acupuncture (individualized, standardized or simulated) experienced a
clinically meaningful improvement in their level of functioning, compared with 39 percent
of those receiving usual care. At the one-year follow-up, 59 percent to 65 percent of
those in the acupuncture groups experienced an improvement in function compared with 50
percent of the usual care group.
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Electroacupuncture protects
acetylsalicylic acid-induced acute gastritis in rats
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used as anti-inflammatory and
analgesic agents. However, they often cause gastrointestinal injury in gastric lesions by
inhibiting COX (cyclooxygenase) and detailed mechanism remains unclear. Thus, effective
strategies are required to protect the gastrointestinal mucosa. A research article to be
published on February 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this
question. The research team led by Dr. Choi from Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine
investigated the protective effects of acupuncture against NSAID-induced ulceration in a
rat model. In their study, 72 rats were randomly divided into three groups including
control (administered with distilled water), ASA group (administered 100 mg/kg ASA) and EA
group (administered EA + 100 mg/kg ASA). Each rat was fasted for 18 to 24hours before
experimentation, and lesion scores, gastric acidity, cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and -2 mRNA
levels, and total nitric oxide (NO) concentration were measured. They found that the
lesion scores of the EA group were significantly lower than those of the NSAID-induced
ulceration group. Gastric acidity of NSAID-induced ulceration group and EA group was
reduced as compared to the control group. COX-1 and -2 mRNA levels were significantly
increased in the EA group as compared to the control and NSAID-induced ulceration group,
and NO levels were also significantly increased in the EA group as compared to the
NSAID-induced ulceration group.
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Acupuncture relieves hot flushes in
breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen
Acupuncture provides effective relief from hot flushes in women who are being treated with
the anti-oestrogen tamoxifen following surgery for breast cancer, according to new
research presented today (Friday) at the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) in
Berlin. Mrs Jill Hervik, a physiotherapist and acupuncturist at the Vestfold Central
Hospital (Tønsberg, Norway), told a news briefing that breast cancer patients who
received traditional Chinese acupuncture had a 50% reduction in hot flushes, both during
the day and the night, and that this effect continued after the acupuncture ceased.
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Acupuncture Reduces Side Effects of
Breast Cancer Treatment As Much As Conventional Drug Therapy
Acupuncture is as effective and longer-lasting in managing the common debilitating side
effects of hot flashes, night sweats, and excessive sweating (vasomotor symptoms)
associated with breast cancer treatment and has no treatment side effects compared to
conventional drug therapy, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented September 24,
2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 50th Annual
Meeting in Boston. Findings also show there were additional benefits to acupuncture
treatment for breast cancer patients, such as an increased sense of well being, more
energy, and in some cases, a higher sex drive, that were not experienced in those patients
who underwent drug treatment for their hot flashes. “Our study shows that physicians
and patients have an additional therapy for something that affects the majority of breast
cancer survivors and actually has benefits, as opposed to more side effects. The effect is
more durable than a drug commonly used to treat these vasomotor symptoms and, ultimately,
is more cost-effective for insurance companies,” Eleanor Walker, M.D., lead author of
the study and a radiation oncologist at the Henry Ford Hospital Department of Radiation
Oncology in Detroit, said.
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Acupuncture treatment may be more
effective than conventional therapy in treating lower back pain
Six months of acupuncture treatment appears to be more effective than conventional therapy
in treating low back pain, according to a study in the Sept. 24 issue of Archives of
Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, although the study suggests that
both sham acupuncture and traditional Chinese verum acupuncture appear to be effective in
treating low back pain.
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Acupuncture just as effective without needle puncture
Acupuncture works - but it works equally well with or without needle penetration. This
conclusion can be drawn from a treatment study involving cancer patients suffering from
nausea during radiotherapy. Anna Enblom, a physiotherapist and doctoral candidate at the
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences at Linköping University and the Vårdal
Institute in Sweden, carried out four studies that are now being reported in her doctoral
dissertation. The first study involved a group that received ordinary medical treatment
for nausea, but not acupuncture. In that group only one quarter of the nauseous patients
experienced any relief. The acupuncture study of 215 patients who were undergoing
radiation treatment in the abdomen or pelvic region chose by lot one of these two
acupuncture types. 109 received traditional acupuncture, with needles penetrating the skin
in particular points. According to ancient Chinese tradition, the needle is twisted until
a certain 'needle sensation' arises. The other 106 patients received a simulated
acupuncture instead, with a telescopic, blunt placebo needle that merely touches the skin.
The acupuncture was performed by physiotherapists two or three times a week throughout the
five-week radiation period.
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Medical acupuncture gaining
acceptance by the US Air Force
Medical acupuncture, which is acupuncture performed by a licensed physician trained at a
conventional medical school, is being used increasingly for pain control. Richard
Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a peer-reviewed journal
(www.liebertpub.com/acu) and the official journal of the American Academy of Medical
Acupuncture, is at the forefront of these efforts in the military. The technique developed
by Dr. Niemtzow has been so successful that the Air Force will begin teaching
"Battlefield Acupuncture" to physicians deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan in
early 2009. "Battlefield Acupuncture" can relieve severe pain lasting several
days. Based on modern neurophysiological concepts, Niemtzow developed a variation of
acupuncture that involves inserting very tiny semi-permanent needles into very specific
acupoints in the skin on the ear to block pain signals from reaching the brain. This
method can lessen the need for pain medications that may cause adverse or allergic
reactions or addiction. "This is one of the fastest pain attenuators in
existence," said Dr. Niemtzow, who is the Consultant for complementary and
alternative medicine for the Surgeon General of the Air Force, and is affiliated with
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda. "The pain can be
gone in five minutes."
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Doctors, hospitals more accepting
of acupuncture
Dr. Shyam Bhat, an internist and psychiatrist with Southern Illinois University School of
Medicine who is medical director of integrative medicine at the Center for Living, said
more and more physicians are accepting acupuncture as an alternative for patients who
haven’t found relief for chronic pain and other long-term problems.
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Acupuncture May Boost Pregnancy
It sounds far-fetched — sticking needles in women to help them become pregnant —
but a scientific review suggests that acupuncture might improve the odds of conceiving if
done right before or after embryos are placed in the womb.
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Acupuncture pins down seasonal
allergy relief
A growing number of allergy sufferers in the United States are turning to the ancient
therapy of acupuncture to bring them relief from the sneezing, congestion and watery eyes
that plague them.
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