German investigators have recorded objective measures of improvement in nasal congestion following acupuncture. Twenty-four patients with a history of nasal congestion were diagnosed according to the Heidelberg model of TCM. They were treated using either specific verum acupoints according to TCM diagnosis, or nonspecific control acupoints. Subjective (VAS – nasal congestion measured on a visual analog scale) and objective (NAF – nasal airflow measured using active anterior rhinomanometry) measures of nasal congestion NAF were measured before, 15 and 30 minutes after acupuncture. Control acupuncture showed a significant improvement in VAS and a deterioration of NAF, while verum acupuncture showed highly significant improvements in both VAS and NAF. In addition, verum acupuncture improved NAF and VAS significantly over time.
(Acupuncture for nasal congestion: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical pilot study. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2009 Sep 18.
Quelle: www.jcm.co.uk