A reader Asma recently sent in this question:
I started acupuncture for my chronic pain and it seems to be helping. I was wondering if any of your other readers have tried it and what their experiences were. Please consider acupuncture as a topic for one of your future blogs.
Asma, thanks for the great suggestion.
An excellent review article by Edzard Ernst, M.D., reports that the conditions that are most solidly backed up by evidence showing acupuncture helps are:
- chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting
- postoperative nausea/vomiting
- idiopathic headache (headache of unknown cause)
Many other diseases, both pain-related and not, were not helped by acupuncture. Ernst concludes that studies “do not suggest that this treatment is effective for a wide range of conditions.”
The question, “Is acupuncture helpful?” is complicated by many issues:
- there are different types of acupuncture
- it’s hard to do “pretend acupuncture” in the control groups of studies
- many of the studies are not well done by scientific standards
- negative studies (showing acupuncture doesn’t work) sometimes don’t get published
- many of the “positive” studies really aren’t definite, because they were poorly done
So that’s the research. However, for any individual reader, if something seems to be helping and it’s not harmful, then it may be worth continuing.
The original article is Acupuncture: What does the most reliable evidence tell us?, in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 2009, Vol 37, pages 709-714.
Readers – what has your experience been?
Grand Rounds, a medical-blog carnival, is posted this week at Health Blogs Observatory.
5 responses so far ↓
Jeanne // May 13, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Acupuncture is amazing and helps with all sorts of chronic pain. I have blogged about this topic myself. As a local endometriosis support group leader, I have spoken with many other women who have reaped huge benefits from acupuncture.
Acupuncture has helped me with a great many chronic pain symptoms (associated with a number of different conditions). I first started acupuncture for back pain but quickly realized it was helping me with other issues.
My acupuncturist uses Japanese style needles. I cannot say enough about it. I have been going for over 8 years now and it’s a cornerstone treatment option for me.
The most dramatic results of acupuncture for me became apparent in the months following my last surgery in January 2008. When I developed phantom pain following this last-resort nerve-cutting surgery that was supposed to help my pain, I turned to my acupuncturist for help.
None of my doctors had been able to do anything whatsoever for the phantom pain… which was just unbearable. Acupuncture is the ONLY thing that helped with the phantom pain that developed after the nerve-cutting surgery. I still have chronic pain in that area and the neurologists tell me I always will.
However, I went from literally not being able to take a bath because the water against my skin was far too painful to taking a bath with no problem… thanks to acupuncture. I had great difficulty walking after surgery. Just one acupuncture treatment enabled me to walk out of the office on my own in January 2008.
Also, while this isn’t specifically regarding chronic pain, I thought I’d mention here that my daughter, who is 8 years old, was on as many as 5 asthma medications at one time starting at age 3. She has been doing acupuncture now for 2 years. She is now down to 1 medication instead of 5 for her asthma and her very traditional pediatrician (who has never struck me as being very open to acupuncture) just informed us that we can try stopping her 1 remaining medication once allergy season is over in 6-8 weeks.
She was using her nebulizer and/or inhaler daily before acupuncture. She has not needed either a single time since… in 2 years. (Yes, I realize asthma is a chronic illness and yes, we will certainly be on the lookout for symptoms. However, she has been 100% symptom free for 2 years and even her very traditional pediatrician is comfortable phasing out the remaining medication to see how she does).
I have met many people through the Internet who get acupuncture to treat various types of chronic pain… and who love it.
There is plenty of research to support the benefits of acupuncture. Plus several thousands of years of it being in practice says something, doesn’t it?
Jeanne
jeisea // May 14, 2009 at 2:17 am
Thanks HTCwP for posting this topic. First a note to Jeanne. Suggest you google V S Ramachandran “Phantoms in the brain”. Utube used to have a video about this.
I also have found acupuncture helps me with pain and symptoms of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD). I specifically am most helped by Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture. I recently discovered a new website about this and so did a series of posts on my blog after reading your post which I subscribe to via email. A great deal more research is needed. However in my case I give acupuncture a resounding thumbs up.
jill // May 14, 2009 at 9:12 am
I tried 5 different acupuncturists over a 5 year period for fibromyalgia pain. I did not receive pain relief from any of the treatments. I tried a few different types- traditionally trained, chinese medicine dr., american trained MD, and an American Dr. who was trained in an Eastern way. The process of acupuncture is relaxing and meditative (laying, breathing, usually nice music is on) and none of that can make things worse, but I wanted my severe pain to be relieved and I concur with the studies referred to on this blog.
Barbara // May 28, 2009 at 12:10 am
Acupuncture hasn’t stopped or lessened my pain but it has improved my bowels, not constapated, helps my sleeping. I actually sleep longer that 20 minutes at a time and believe me sleep does help me,my brain and my personality. Everything is better after some sleeping
Barbara a schaffer
Am Ang Zhang // Jul 28, 2009 at 11:32 am
Thank you for being part of the Tour de Grande Rounds.
The Cockroach Catcher
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