New research concludes that acupuncture is an effective and safe form of pain management for patients with hemophilia. Hemophilia is an X chromosome genetic disorder wherein the body has an impaired ability to stop bleeding. Hemophilia is more common in males because females have two X chromosomes and are therefore less likely to have the defect on both X chromosomes. Although clotting is impaired with hemophilia, acupuncture was shown to be safe in this study. The study reports that “no reported increased bleeding risk as a result of acupuncture use” was found. A total of 14 acupuncture treatments were applied to the subjects of the study and over 75 percent of the subjects had a significant decrease in pain levels. The researchers note, “This study suggests that acupuncture therapy can be a safe additional modality for pain management therapies in persons with haemophilia, although larger randomized studies are needed for further validation.”
Reference:
Haemophilia, The Official Journal of the World Federation of Hemophilia and the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders. LAMBING, A.; KOHN-CONVERSE, B.; HANAGAVADI, S.; VARMA, V. Use of acupuncture in the management of chronic haemophilia pain. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 1365-2516.
