People suffering from chronic low back pain who received acupuncture or simulated acupuncture treatments fared better than those receiving only conventional care according to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. This trial, led by Daniel Gherkin, Ph.D., of Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of Health. "Because of the lack of highly effective medical treatments for chronic low back pain, ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , back pain , pain relief

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Acupuncture brought more relief to people with back pain than standard treatments, whether it was done with a toothpick or a real needle, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that raises new questions about how acupuncture works. For many patients, that benefit lasted for a year, the team reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Our study shows that you don't need to stick needles into people to get the same effect," said Dr. Daniel Cherkin of Group Health ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , low back pain , pain relief

Acupuncture will be used in emergency departments to treat acute migraine, back pain and ankle injuries after its success in lowering pain levels in patients attending a busy public hospital. The National Health and Medical Research Council has granted more than $400,000 for a three-year clinical trial in which 400 people will receive drug therapy, acupuncture or both to treat pain. Robyn Parker, an emergency physician and qualified medical acupuncturist, will tell the winter symposium of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine in Darwin ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , clinical trial

Eastern medicine and the balance of yin and yang Traditional Chinese medicine believes that health and wellness are obtained when the two opposing energy forces in the body, yin and yang, are in balance with one another. According to this theory, acupuncture works by altering the balance between ying and yan. By inserting needles at meridian points on the body and manipulating them or applying heat, the energy flows may be released or altered. Traditional Chinese medicine asserts that qi, or energy, along ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , eastern view , western view

In spring, the axis of the Earth is tilted toward the sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the hemisphere closest to the sun. During this increase in daylight, trees and grass spring forth by dispersing pollen through the air currents. A person’s immune system may be hyperactive and may identify pollen as something harmful. From this moment on, the immune system will produce proteins called antibodies that will identify pollen as a pathogen. Pathogen-fighting chemicals such as histamine will be ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , allergies

What is acupuncture? Acupuncture is a therapy of traditional Chinese medicine that originated in China over 5,000 years ago. It is based on the belief that people have a vital energy, called “Qi,” that circulates through twelve invisible energy channels, known as “meridians,” on the body. These energy channels are like rivers flowing through the body to irrigate and nourish the tissues. Each meridian is associated with a different organ system. An imbalance in the flow of Qi throughout a meridian is how ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture

There's scientific evidence that acupuncture may help migraine sufferers. In a clinical trial involving patients with acute attacks of migraine, real acupuncture proved more effective than two different types of sham acupuncture in reducing the discomfort of acute migraine headache two and four hours after treatment, researchers from China report in the medical journal Headache. Real acupuncture is also "clearly effective" in preventing migraine relapse and aggravation, report Dr Li Ying from the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and colleagues. Although acupuncture has been ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , headache , migraine

Researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York decided to study the effects of stimulating the acupuncture point, LI 2, because previous clinical trials showed that acupuncture appeared to reduce dry mouth or xerostomia in patients previously treated with head and neck radiation therapy.  This study involved the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze the extent to which stimulating LI 2 affected saliva production.  Large Intestine 2 (LI 2) is an acupuncture point located just above the knuckle on ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , saliva

Acupuncture provides significant reductions in pain, dry mouth and shoulder dysfunction for patients after head or neck cancer surgery, according to a clinical study released at the 2008 meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology this month. Neck dissection, or removal of the lymph nodes and surrounding tissue, is common in treating head and neck cancers. Common side effects of this procedure include pain and shoulder dysfunction.  Postoperative radiation is also frequently administered, leading to dry mouth. Seventy patients took part in a ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , cancer , cancer treatment

Acupuncture is now officially recommended for lung cancer patients experiencing fatigue, dyspnea, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, or to soothe symptoms of pain or nausea and vomiting. Evidence-based guidelines published by the American College of Chest Physicians in September recommend acupuncture for lung cancer patients experiencing fatigue, dyspnea, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, or to soothe symptoms of pain or nausea and vomiting. Massage therapy is recommended for patients experiencing anxiety or pain. The new edition of these standard guidelines represent the first time complementary and integrative medicine has been ... Read More

Tags: Acupuncture , cancer , lung cancer