Acupuncture News and Research
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Acupuncture research and breaking news continues at an ever increasing rate. This summer, three new investigations demonstrate that acupuncture has an important role in integrative medicine. Research demonstrates the effectiveness of acupuncture for the alleviation of sepsis and long COVID-19. In addition, acupuncture has been shown to reduce knee pain and range of motion impairment.
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Acupuncture is effective for reducing side effects caused by chemotherapy. In one investigation, true acupuncture outperformed sham acupuncture for cisplatin-induced nausea and vomiting. In another two independent investigations, the addition of acupuncture to chemotherapy improved white blood cell count and boosted immune function for cancer patients.
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Acupuncture is effective for relieving symptoms and upregulating β-endorphin levels in patients with lumbar disc herniation. Researchers from Heping Hospital affiliated with Zhangzhi Medical School conducted a clinical trial on the efficacy of treating lumbar disc herniation with manual and warm needle acupuncture. The warm needle acupuncture group presented superior patient outcomes. [1]
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Acupuncture is effective for relieving symptoms of scapulohumeral periarthritis. Researchers at the Hainan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine conducted a clinical trial on the efficacy of acupuncture. The results show that range of motion exercises during acupuncture increase shoulder mobility and flexibility while reducing overall pain levels. [1]
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Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of wrist, hand, and forearm pain and mobility impairment due to moderate triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) injury. The TFCC is comprised of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage that connect the bones of the forearm and wrist. Tears and other forms of damage to the TFCC result in localized pain and decreased mobility of the wrist, hand, and forearm. Key components of the TFCC susceptible to injury are the triangular fibrocartilage disc, radioulnar ligaments, extensor carpi ulnaris sheath, ulnomeniscal homologue, and ulnar collateral ligament.
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Acupuncture is found effective for relieving long COVID symptoms. Medical professionals and researchers find acupuncture effective in facilitating recovery from COVID-19, including the alleviation of chest oppression, coughing, nasal congestion, headaches, fatigue, and the restoration of taste and smell. The results are promising and demonstrate that acupuncture compliments the therapeutic effects of usual care and Chinese herbal medicine.
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Acupuncture increases the total effective rate of the drug moxifloxacin for the relief of sepsis. Researchers from the Guang'anmen Affiliated Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Science combined acupuncture with standard drug therapy. Patients receiving both moxifloxacin injections and acupuncture in a combined treatment protocol had superior patient outcomes compared with patients receiving only moxifloxacin. The researchers conclude that the addition of acupuncture to a moxifloxacin treatment regimen reduces body temperature, mitigates inflammatory responses, and improves immune system function in patients with pneumonia-induced sepsis by activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. [1]
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Acupuncture integrated with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is effective for the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia (PTN). In a recent study, researchers from Hebei Xingtai Rehabilitation Hospital compared the efficacy of treating PTN with electroacupuncture combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, regular electroacupuncture, repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and carbamazepine tablets. The results show that the integrative method outperforms other treatment protocols in terms of alleviating pain, promoting life quality, and improving sleep. [i]
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Acupuncture is effective for relieving chronic shoulder pain. Meiji University of Integrative Medicine (Kyoto, Japan) researchers find true acupuncture more effective than sham acupuncture for the relief of chronic shoulder pain CSP. In another study by Shi et al., acupuncture combined with Mulligan Manual Therapy (MMT) relieved rotator cuff injuries and demonstrated superior patient outcomes to using MMT alone.
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Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of fibromyalgia. In one study, acupuncture demonstrated a significantly higher total effective rate for the treatment of fibromyalgia than the standard pharmaceutical therapy of amitriptyline. In another study, researchers found that acupuncture plus moxibustion produces superior treatment outcomes to tramadol and amitriptyline. Learn about acupuncture CEU continuing education and fibromyalgia at HealthCMi online.
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Acupuncture integrated with moxibustion is effective for relieving symptoms and reducing inflammatory factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Researchers at the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine investigated the effectiveness of routine biomedical treatment and that of warm needle acupuncture combined with routine care. The results showed that warm needle acupuncture administered in an integrated protocol with biomedicine outperformed routine care monotherapy by 12.5%. [i]
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Acupuncture combined with herbal medicine is effective for the treatment of post-stroke aphasia. In one investigation, acupuncture plus herbal medicine produced superior treatment outcomes when compared with intravenous injections of edaravone. In another investigation, acupuncture plus speech therapy was found superior to using only speech therapy. Aphasia is a condition caused by brain damage that affects the ability to communicate through speech or written language. This affects both comprehension and expression.
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Clinical trials demonstrate that acupuncture and herbs alleviate post-stroke hemiplegia. Researchers from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine investigated the effects of acupuncture and traditional herbal medicine on post-stroke hemiplegia. They concluded that the combination of both TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) modalities is a more effective treatment protocol than using only acupuncture. Acupuncture combined with herbs yielded an 88.0% total effective rate and using only acupuncture had a 74.83% total effective rate. [1]
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Acupuncture point stimulation is effective for the treatment of diabetes. In a laboratory investigation, laser acupuncture outperformed rosiglitazone for the inhibition of β-cell apoptosis. In an independent clinical investigation, true TENS acupuncture point stimulation outperformed sham acupuncture point stimulation for regulating glucose levels and improving insulin resistance.
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Acupuncture is effective for relieving symptoms and improving quality of life for patients with dry eye syndrome in menopausal and premenopausal age groups. Researchers from the Third People's Hospital of Nanning City conducted a clinical trial comparing the effects of an acupuncture plus moxibustion protocol with artificial tears for patients with dry eye syndrome (i.e., keratoconjunctivitis sicca, dry eye disease). Acupuncture yielded superior patient outcomes over patients using artificial tears. [1]
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Acupuncture is effective for increasing the total effective rate of drug therapy for the relief of angina caused by coronary heart disease (CHD). Researchers from the Wuhan Seventh Municipal Hospital combined acupuncture with standard drug therapy. Patients receiving both modalities in a combined treatment protocol had superior patient outcomes compared with patients receiving only drug therapy. The results were confirmed with ECG outcomes, numbers of adverse events, and recurrence rates.
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Acupuncture, administered with the warm needle method, in combination with drug therapy outperforms drug monotherapy in the rehabilitation of patients with heroin addiction. Researchers from the Shanghai Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine affiliated to Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine University conducted a randomized clinical trial and found that warm needle acupuncture significantly reduces pain and improves sleep quality in patients. [1]
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Acupuncture is effective for reducing pain and improving hand function in patients with hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVD). Tools that vibrate may cause adverse neural and circulatory effects in the fingers, causing numbness, pain, and a blanching discoloration. Alternate terms for HAVD include vibration white finger and occupational origin Raynaud’s phenomenon (a type of secondary Raynaud’s). The condition is typically more prevalent the early morning or when the hands are cold and wet.
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Acupuncture is effective for endometriosis relief. Research published by Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Second Military Medical University finds electroacupuncture more successful than a powerful hormone antagonist for treating endometriosis. This is consistent with an independent laboratory study, whose findings indicate that the combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine reduces the size of ectopic endometrial tissue and downregulates levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
