# Acupuncture



## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Has anyone here tried acupuncture to relieve Fibro pain? What did you think of it? This was posted to the Co-Cure mailing list:


> quote: *Clinical research on acupuncture: part 1. What have reviews of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture told us so far? * J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Jul;10(3):468-80.Birch S, Hesselink JK, Jonkman FA, Hekker TA, Bos A.Foundation for the Study of Traditional East Asian Medicine, Amsterdam, TheNetherlands.PMID: 15253851Overview and methods: This paper discusses those medical conditions inwhich clinical trials of acupuncture have been conducted, and wheremeta-analyses or systematic reviews have been published. It focuses on thegeneral conclusions of these reviews by further examining official reviewsconducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada each ofwhich examined available systematic reviews.While all reviews agree that the methodological rigor of acupunctureclinical trials has generally been poor and that higher quality clinicaltrials are necessary, this has not completely hampered the interpretationof the results of these clinical trials. In some conditions the evidence ofefficacy has clearly reached a sufficient critical mass from enoughwell-designed studies to draw clear conclusions; for the rest, the evidenceis difficult to clearly interpret.This paper also examines conclusions from the same international reviews onthe safety and adverse effects of acupuncture. Here, conclusions are moreeasily drawn and there is good agreement about the safety of acupuncture.Results and conclusions: General international agreement has emerged thatacupuncture appears to be effective for postoperative dental pain,postoperative nausea and vomiting, and chemotherapy-related nausea andvomiting. For migraine, low-back pain, and temporomandibular disorders. Theresults are considered positive by some and difficult to interpret byothers. For a number of conditions such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis ofthe knee, and tennis elbow the evidence is considered promising, but moreand better quality research is needed. For conditions such as chronic pain,neck pain, asthma, and drug addiction the evidence is consideredinconclusive and difficult to interpret. For smoking cessation, tinnitus,and weight loss the evidence is usually regarded as negative.Reviews have concluded that while not free from serious adverse events,they are rare and that acupuncture is a relatively safe procedure.


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