Acupuncture stimulates cartilage repair for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Using MRIs, researchers have quantified the therapeutic effects of acupuncture. Within four weeks, acupuncture successfully improves the condition of cartilage in the anterior medial and lateral tibial regions of the knee. In addition, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores document that acupuncture reduces pain and stiffness levels while simultaneously improving physical function. In a controlled trial (Zhang et al.), acupuncture was compared with the therapeutic benefits of physical therapy. The MRIs demonstrate that acupuncture improves cartilage in the knee region. Physical therapy did not stimulate cartilage repair. Pain,...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture enhances positive patient outcome rates for patients suffering from headaches. In separate and independent investigations, researchers have determined that acupuncture significantly boosts the effectiveness of occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) and levo-tetrahydropalmatine (l-THP) drug therapy. Since the late 1970s, neurosurgeons have implanted ONS devices at the base of the skull for the treatment of headaches. An electrical signal is generated by ONS devices to override pain. Researchers from Jilin University Hospital and Changchun Traditional Chinese Medicine University find that administering acupuncture together with ONS is significantly more effective than using only ONS as a standalone therapeutic modality. Independently, Sichuan Disabled...Weiterlesen

Qi-guiding acupuncture relieves disc herniation pain and a special intensive silver acupuncture needle protocol relieves chronic lower back myofascial pain. Researchers find acupuncture effective for the treatment of lower back pain disorders. In a protocolized study from the Shanghai Jiaotong University Sixth People’s Hospital, researchers determined that a special type of manual acupuncture therapy, known as qi-guiding acupuncture, produces significant positive patient outcomes for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation patients. In related research from Xinping Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, investigators find acupuncture combined with moxibustion effective for the alleviation of lower back pain due to lumbodorsal myofascial pain syndrome. A...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture can reduce pain and pathological thickness of the common extensor tendon (CET) in patients with lateral epicondylitis (LE). Ultrasound evaluation of the CET in a patient with LE may reveal increased tendon thickness, which correlates with the severity of the LE. Turkish clinicians randomly assigned 41 patients to acupuncture and control groups. All received conventional treatment, and the acupuncture group also received needling at six acupoints (an ashi point, Shousanli L.I.-10, Quchi L.I.-11, Chize LU-5, Hegu L.I.-4 and Weiguan SJ-5) for 25 minutes per session, two or three times a week for four weeks (a total of 10 sessions)....Weiterlesen

German clinicians have found acupuncture to be effective in producing sustained, clinically relevant pain relief in patients with osteoporosis. In a sham-controlled study, 53 patients received 10 sessions of either verum or sham acupuncture treatment over five weeks. Verum acupuncture consisted of deep needling at specific points according to TCM principles (Shenshu BL-23, Dachangshu BL-25, Weizhong BL-40, Kunlun BL-60, Yanglingquan GB-34, Taixi KID-3 and Bai Hui DU-20, plus a maximum of five individual ah shi points), while sham acupuncture consisted of superficial needling at non-acupuncture points (located at least five centimetres away from the verum acupuncture points). Both groups experienced...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture combined with herbal medicine foot baths is a proven and effective therapeutic method for the elimination of plantar fasciitis. Guangxi People’s Hospital researchers compared using only Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) foot baths as a standalone therapy with a combination of TCM foot baths and acupuncture. Compared with Chinese herbal medicine foot bath monotherapy, adding acupuncture treatments to the regimen of care significantly decreases pain and swelling while simultaneously reducing relapse rates. Plantar fasciitis involves pain and inflammation of the band of tissue running across the sole of the foot, the plantar fascia. A major cause of heel pain, many...Weiterlesen

Indian investigators have found that acupuncture is more effective for pain relief than analgesics in the treatment of pulpitis (inflammation of dental pulp tissue). A total of 157 patients were randomly assigned to three groups; real acupuncture with placebo drug, sham acupuncture with placebo drug, and sham acupuncture with ibuprofen. Acupuncture needles were inserted for 15-20 minutes at Hegu L.I.-4, Jiache ST-6, Xiaguan ST-7 and Yifeng SJ-17 on the same side as the dental pain. Needling was carried out at non-acupoints for sham acupuncture. Patients treated with acupuncture reported faster pain relief that was sustained over a longer period of...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture stimulates knee osteoarthritis cartilage repair by regulating proteins TGF-β1 and IGF-1. Beijing University of Traditional Chinese medicine researchers determined that acupuncture accelerates articular cartilage repair in the osteoarthritic knee by inhibiting the overexpression of TGF-β1 and IGF-1. With multiple objective laboratory instruments measuring outcomes, the investigation also reveal that acupuncture smooths the surface of knee cartilage while regulating cell proliferation and differentiation. [1] Under the results section of this article, you will be able to read more about this groundbreaking discovery. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) often presents with pain, limited mobility, and a reduction in quality of life. Pathologically, it...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture is effective for the alleviation of musculoskeletal pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and arthritis related pain. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) researchers conclude that the analgesic effects of acupuncture are superior to sham controls and the pain relief persists over time. The research team concludes that acupuncture is an effective treatment modality for chronic pain and referral to an acupuncturist is a reasonable treatment option. In a meta-analysis of 20,827 patients across 39 clinical trials, researchers determined that acupuncture’s pain relieving effects for patients with musculoskeletal pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and arthritis persist over time—with only a...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture may lead to long-term improvements in clinical outcomes and levels of of pain neuromediators in fibromyalgia (FM) patients, according to researchers from Turkey. Seventy-five women with FM were randomised to one of three kinds of acupuncture treatment; real acupuncture (RA), sham acupuncture (ShA) and simulated acupuncture (SiA). Treatments were applied twice weekly for four weeks. Serum serotonin values increased significantly after treatment in both RA and ShA, however the increase in the RA was significantly greater than in both of the other groups. Levels of substance P (the main pain neurotransmitter) decreased in the RA group, but increased in...Weiterlesen