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Acupuncture: The Year in Review
As 2009 draws to a close I wanted to highlight some recently published research. Every year it seems Chinese medicine is becoming increasingly mainstream as more people become comfortable with a modality that used to be mysterious and exotic. Nowadays it seems everyone has either tried acupuncture or knows someone who has. And what used to be word–of–mouth, anecdotal evidence is becoming research–based and scientifically proven.
Let me offer a few examples of how acupuncture is making itself the "go to" therapy for a number of common ailments.
A few Duke University studies involving 4,000 patients with migraines, tension headaches and other forms of chronic headaches found acupuncture to be superior to medication. By a margin of 62 percent to 45 percent acupuncture had better outcomes.
"Acupuncture is becoming a favorable option for a variety of purposes, ranging from enhancing fertility to decreasing post operative pain because people experience significantly fewer side effects and it can be less expensive than other options. This analysis reinforces that acupuncture also is a successful source of relief from chronic headaches," said lead researcher Dr. T.J. Gan.
The May 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reported new evidence that acupuncture is now useful in the treatment of low back pain. In this study, 638 patients suffering with back pain were divided into groups that either received "usual" care or acupuncture. "Usual" care consisted of medications, physical therapy and primary care.
Of those getting acupuncture, one–third received a custom treatment protocol, one group received a standardized protocol and another received "placebo" acupuncture. All patients received a self–care book with information about pain management, exercise and lifestyle modification. All patients receiving acupuncture had 10 treatments over eight weeks. At the conclusion of the eight weeks participants were asked to rate their progress on a disability scale. The usual care group scored 2.1 while the acupuncture groups scored between 4.4 and 4.5, over twice as high. Improvements were seen as far as a year after the treatments were delivered.
In Men's Journal (July/August 2009), Dr. Christopher Winfree, a neurosurgeon at Columbia University Medical Center, reported that "lots of cyclists suffer from pelvic pain. Sitting on a bike for a long time can cause lots of nerve damage. In the past I'd often have to operate, but since I began prescribing acupuncture two years ago, I've seen 100 patients and haven't performed a single operation. This shows a lot of promise for other sports–related pain."
I look forward to seeing what 2010 teaches us. If you'd like to find out what acupuncture can do for you please give me a call.
© 2009 Larry Forsberg. All rights reserved.
Articles posted on this Web site are for personal use only and remain the property of Larry Forsberg, L.Ac.
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