Swedish researchers have shown that minimal acupuncture can shorten the duration and reduce the intensity of crying in infants with colic. Ninety otherwise healthy infants (2-8 weeks old) with infantile colic were randomised to receive six acupuncture treatments over three weeks or no acupuncture. Parents were blinded to the allocation of their children. Infants allocated to acupuncture were given minimal, standardised acupuncture for two seconds at Hegu L.I.-4. The results showed that children who had acupuncture recovered from colic more quickly than those who did not. Infants in the acupuncture group also exhibited less distress (fussing, crying and colicky crying)...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture can reduce crying in infants with colic, according to a Swedish study. In a three-armed randomised trial, 147 infants received usual care together with either standardised minimal acupuncture (at Hegu L.I.-4), or semi-standardised individual acupuncture based on TCM (any combination of Sifeng M-UE-9, Hegu L.I.-4 and Zusanli ST-36), twice a week for two weeks. The effect of the two types of acupuncture was similar and both were superior to standard care alone. Relative to baseline, there was a greater reduction in time spent crying by the second week in infants receiving both types of acupuncture. Effect of minimal acupuncture for...Weiterlesen

Stimulation of Hegu L.I.-4 can reduce pain in children during dental anaesthetic injection. Children scheduled for dental treatment using local anaesthesia received bilateral acupuncture at Hegu L.I.-4 (using intradermal needles). During the dental treatment, the patients’ parents stimulated the needles by massage. Two different treatment regimes were compared: standardised local anaesthetic (LA) injection given five minutes after acupuncture, and LA injection without acupuncture. The order of treatment was randomised, with the two treatments performed in a crossover manner on different days. Data were obtained from 49 patients. Patients reported less pain when acupuncture was used (mean pain score 2.3 versus...Weiterlesen

A prospective, randomised trial carried out in Denmark has found that acupuncture can reduce asthma symptoms and medication use in preschool children. The researchers randomised 122 children to either acupuncture (10 treatments) or usual care over a period of three months. Significant reductions were observed in subjective asthma symptoms and the use of inhaled steroids and beta-2 agonists in both groups at the end of the three-month treatment course. Compared with the control group, the reduction in asthma symptoms and use of inhaled steroids was significantly larger in the acupuncture group. However, at eight-month follow-up, these differences had disappeared. (Acupuncture...Weiterlesen

A short course of electro-acupuncture (EA) can improve specific functions in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially language comprehension and self-care ability. Fifty-five children with ASD were randomly assigned to an EA group or a sham electro-acupuncture (SEA) group. The EA group received electro-acupuncture at eight acupoints: Sishencong (M-HN-1), Yintang (M-HN-3), Neiguan P-6, Shenmen HE-7, Taichong LIV-3, Sanyinjiao SP-6 and the ear points Naodian and Shenmen. The SEA group received sham electro-acupuncture at sham acupoints 3-5 mm from the selected acupoints used for the EA group. Both groups received a total of 12 sessions over four weeks. At the...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT Background: Sport-related concussion is a major concern for young athletes because a growing number of children participate in sport-related activities. Postconcussive symptoms can lead to physical, academic, and social impairment. There is no definitive treatment for sport-related postconcussive symptoms, and most available pharmacologic therapies have potential side-effects. Cases: The aim of this case report is to describe the use of acupuncture in the management of sport-related postconcussive symptoms in 3 pediatric patients. All 3 patients presented with chronic postconcussive symptoms that did not improve with conventional treatments alone. A retrospective chart review was performed from 2012 to 2015 on...Weiterlesen

Research from the Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, found that acupuncture can be safely and successfully incorporated into paediatric pain management practice. Over a one-year period, 243 children (167 females and 76 males) mean age 14.3 years received an average of 8.4 sessions of acupuncture treatments. At the initial consultation, the chief complaints included pain in the low back, the hips and lower extremities (30%), abdomen (25%), head (23%), neck, shoulder, arm (10%), chest (6%), pelvis (4%), and others (2%). At the end of the six-week treatment period, mean pain scores decreased from 8.3...Weiterlesen

Researchers have investigated whether acupuncture can reduce the need for antiemetic medication during chemotherapy in paediatric oncology. A multicentre crossover study carried out at five hospitals in Germany enrolled 23 children, mean age 13.6 years, who were receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy for the treatment of solid malignant tumours. Patients were randomly allocated to receive acupuncture treatment during either the second or third identical chemotherapy course together with standard antiemetic medication. Forty-six chemotherapy courses with or without acupuncture were compared. The need for rescue antiemetic medication was found to be significantly lower in acupuncture courses compared to control courses. Episodes of...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture can complement the use of spectacles to correct anisometropic amblyopia (lazy eye) in children, according to researchers in Hong Kong. Eighty-three children with the condition were randomised to receive spectacles alone (group 1) or spectacles + acupuncture (group 2) for 15 weeks, and the two groups were then crossed over to receive the other regimen for another 15 weeks. In both groups, acupuncture treatment was associated with significant improvement in the visual acuity of the amblyopic eye. (Adjunctive Effect of Acupuncture to Refractive Correction on Anisometropic Amblyopia One-Year Results of a Randomized Crossover Trial. Ophthalmology. 2011 Apr 2. Quelle:...Weiterlesen

A systematic review carried out by Chinese authors suggests that acupuncture may be more effective than pharmacological treatment for childhood nocturnal enuresis. The study analysed data from 21 RCTs involving 1590 individuals. Meta-analysis revealed that acupuncture significantly improves clinical efficacy in enuretic children when compared with either placebo acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine or the drug Meclofenoxate. Efficacy of Acupuncture in Children with Nocturnal Enuresis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:320701. Epub 2015 Jun 16. Quelle: www.jcm.co.ukWeiterlesen