At 8-week follow up, all groups of patients showed improvement. However, the "usual care" group only improved by 2.1 points (scored on a disability questionnaire), as opposed to the individualized, standardized and simulated acupuncture groups, which improved by 4.4, 4.5 and 4.4 points, respectively. The greater improvement for the acupuncture groups over usual care continued all the way to 52 weeks, at the end of the study.

 

Interestingly, at the end of the study, there was little difference between the four acupuncture treatment groups in terms of effectiveness. Nevertheless, they concluded, "Compared with usual care, individualized acupuncture, standardized acupuncture and simulated acupuncture had beneficial and persisting effects on chronic back pain. These treatments resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in function. ... For clinicians and patients seeking a relatively safe and effective treatment for a condition for which conventional treatments are often ineffective, various methods of acupuncture point stimulation appear to be reasonable options, even though the mechanism of action remains unclear.

 

Research demonstrates that women who receive acupuncture in combination with their high-tech fertility treatments improve reproductive outcomes.1-11 This research has been published in the scientific literature and has helped to thrust acupuncture into the spotlight as a valuable adjunct to high-tech fertility options.7-11

 

In a survey of more than 100 members of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (Philadelphia, ASRM, 2004), each and every physician raised their hands denoting that "yes" they do have patients receiving acupuncture.

In 1996, Stener-Victorin2 reported on uterine blood flow in patients who received acupuncture. This study was followed by research conducted by Paulus, et al.,1 in 2002, which demonstrated improved pregnancy rates in IVF patients who were treated with acupuncture just before and after embryo transfer.

 

The outcomes have been phenomenal. poor prognosis patients treated with acupuncture were more likely to get pregnant, have lower miscarriage rates, suffer fewer ectopics and, most importantly, have more take-home babies! As an added bonus, they seemed to have fewer multiples.

 

This research, along with the growing body of rigorous Western-style RCTs, demonstrates that adding acupuncture to IVF protocols results in increased pregnancies, fewer ectopics, fewer miscarriages, a trend toward fewer multiples, as well as a marked increase in take-home babies. Couples benefit in three important ways:

A new report published in the online version of the British Medical Journal1 has found that acupuncture is a useful, cost-effective treatment for chronic headaches, particularly migraines.  The report found that over a 12-month period, headache patients who received regular acupuncture sessions reported fewer headaches, had a higher quality of life, missed fewer days from work, used less medication, and made fewer visits to a general practitioner than patients given standard treatment for headaches.

 

The authors recommended that their findings should be taken into account by policymakers when assessing the most cost-effective ways of treating patients. They also called for an expansion of acupuncture services for the treatment of chronic headaches in the National Health Service, which provides health care to millions of Britons each year.

 

In an interview with the BBC, Dr. Mike Cummings, the medical director for the British Medical Acupuncture Society, called the study "innovative" and agreed with the authors' assertions.2 "It is very positive for us," he said of the research. "This should help to lift acupuncture out of what is seen to be alternative to mainstream medicine ... It should be made available in primary care to treat pain and to prevent costly referrals to hospitals."

Acupuncture Improves Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

The National Institutes of Health estimates that between 3 percent and 6 percent of all Americans suffer from fibromyalgia.

A chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas of the body called "tender points," fibromyalgia primarily occurs in women, although it can strike people of both sexes and all ages. The pain associated with fibromyalgia often fluctuates in duration and intensity. At times, it can be quite mild; on other occasions, the pain can be so severe as to affect a person's ability to carry out normal functions of daily living.

Just as fibromyalgia has no known cause, there is also no known cure. The medical management of fibromyalgia usually consists of a combination of approaches, including stress counseling, exercise, and a class of antidepressants known as tricyclics. These methods are considered only partially effective, however, and can sometimes cause side-effects, such as excessive drowsiness, weight gain and constipation.

One form of care being used increasingly to treat the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia is acupuncture. Studies published in 1998 and 20002,3 concluded that acupuncture could reduce pain levels and be effective in treating fibromyalgia. One of the most recent investigations into the effectiveness of acupuncture for fibromyalgia was presented at the 11th World Congress on Pain in Sydney, Australia in August, 2005. The trial, conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, found that acupuncture provided significant improvements in a variety of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, with the effects of care often lasting several months.

"This study shows there is something real about acupuncture and its effects on fibromyalgia," said Dr. David Martin, the study's lead investigator, in a news conference held during the congress. "Our study was performed on patients with moderate to severe fibromyalgia. It's my speculation that if acupuncture works for these patients with recalcitrant fibromyalgia - where previous treatments had not provided satisfactory relief - it would likely work for many of the millions of fibromyalgia patients."

The study included 50 patients who met the American College of Rheumatology's criteria for fibromyalgia, and who had tried other conservative treatments for relief, without success. The patients were then randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture or simulated acupuncture, but were not told which treatment they received.

According to the study authors, "Fibromyalgia symptoms were significantly improved in the acupuncture group as compared to the control group over the study benefit," with the greatest improvement occurring at one month following the last treatment.

Significant benefits were seen in patients who received acupuncture when comparing questionnaire scores for pain, anxiety and fatigue.

"We expected the acupuncture to improve the pain," Dr. Martin said. "We didn't really expect the largest benefit to be in fatigue or anxiety."

Recognizing and treating fibromyalgia can be a challenge for both patients and health care providers. While acupuncture may not cure fibromyalgia, the researchers believe that at the very least, it can fill a gap in terms of the number of therapies that can help relieve the symptoms of the condition, either as a standalone form of care or as an adjunct to other therapies.

"Acupuncture is one of the few things shown to be effective for these symptoms. It may be particularly attractive to patients who are unable to take medications because of intolerable side-effects."