This is a summary of a great article discussing acupuncture research and why you should trust acupuncture as a safe and effective form of medicine in your life. Western medicine is absolutely essential, but it’s not enough. Chinese medicine and acupuncture fill the gap, addressing your health needs across the spectrum.
Acupuncture has it’s doubters for sure. In the face of overwhelming acupuncture research studies showing it’s benefits, skeptics claim that existing acupuncture research is inconclusive and more is needed.
Acupuncture Research
Universities and government research centers have published extensive acupuncture research data showing that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of many disorders including lower back pain, asthma, migraines, knee pain and IBS. Clinical studies from well respected US hospitals and medical centers have also published on the benefits of acupuncture for the treatment of pain, numbness, dizziness, nausea and the side effects of chemotherapy.
A large and impressive body of acupuncture research is accumulating that shows beyond a doubt that acupuncture has real and significant clinical benefits. Results would be even better if the study designs were not stacked against a positive outcome. Despite these odds, acupuncture shines as an important and affordable therapy.
Placebo investigations (where one group receives “real” acupuncture and another group receives “fake” acupuncture at wrong acupuncture points) often have a very weak treatment protocol in order to maintain the double-blind placebo design.
The Importance of Qi
The arrival of Qi (having the patient feel an “achy” sensation at the point of insertion) is usually not present in these acupuncture research trials, nor are standard needle manipulation procedures. This makes the studies tricky, because the most important part of an acupuncture treatment is getting the Qi activated at each point. It’s this activation that makes Chinese medicine work.
Many of these acupuncture research studies involve tapping pre-placed needles mounted within styrofoam blocks so that they barely enter the skin. The proper angle of insertion, needle gauge and length, depth of insertion and retention time are not customized. This completely takes away the power of acupuncture, allowing barely 10% of it’s possible effectiveness for healing.
The drive to develop double-blind placebo controlled trials, however well-intentioned, results in skewing the results and making acupuncture look less effective. Acupuncture is a highly skilled medical procedure performed by licensed acupuncturists who have spent many years developing their needle insertion techniques.
Outcome Based Medicine
Outcome based medicine is a much better way to measure the effectiveness of acupuncture, and the acupuncture research studies that look at the clinical results of acupuncture shows a clear pattern of cost-effective results.
Placebo comparative studies, however desirable to the Western medical system, do not reflect a standard acupuncture procedure in a clinical setting and therefore inherently skew results negatively. In double-blind placebo studies, acupuncture faces an uphill battle to prove itself.
Yet, that is precisely what happens. Under the most restrictive circumstances bent on disproving acupuncture as an important form of medicine, acupuncture shines through with significant clinical benefits to patients.
Personalized Diagnosis
Making a unique, personalized diagnosis and customizing every patient treatment has long been the accepted standard of care within acupuncture. A great master once noted that every area of the body is an acupuncture point, however, we do not list many areas as acupuncture points because we have not yet discovered their clinical benefits.
The Trouble With Sham Points
The idea that non-acupuncture points, known as sham points, can be studied against true acupuncture points runs into the problem of comparing unknown areas with known areas. A true measure would be to choose two known areas, one that definitely will not work against one that is traditionally designated as functional in treating a specific ailment. This is a difficult task in that it first must be proven that the sham point is completely ineffective prior to choosing it for the acupuncture research study.
The Role of Politics
The politics are also very interesting. There is a disturbing trend among acupuncture skeptics. They have a tendency to be employed by medical organizations and educational facilities that receive money for conventional medical procedures. Perhaps they are not paid to skew results of acupuncture research, at least not in the intentional sense. Yet, their funding is driven by an industry better served without complementary and integrative medicine. Ultimately, they are surrounded by fellow skeptics that support exclusionary medicine.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that acupuncture works, is spreading in influence, and is here to help you and your loved ones overcome health issues. Utilize acupuncture. Allow it to help you get healthy and get out of pain. Check out the CONDITIONS WE TREAT, watch the VIDEOS and read testimonials from our patients.
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All of my joints were hurting. I’ve got fibromyalgia and it effects me by making my joints hurt. The pain would move around from place to place, first the hip, the next day the shoulder, then the knee, etc. The practitioner at Raleigh Acupuncture explained that the best way to treat my kind of moving joint pain was to treat me holistically. Instead of treating the hip one day, the shoulder the next, they treated the root of the pain. They said this type of treatment would also improve my mood and my sleep. Right on all counts. I started feeling better after the second treatment. It’s like all of the joints just settled down and stopped giving me trouble. I had less flares and the intensity of the pain went way down. My sleep is better, not just because I have less pain. I’m more relaxed and less stressed. I’ve made this treatment a regular part of my life. I’m very grateful.
I suffered from low back pain for years and tried many different remedies. When I came to Raleigh Acupuncture, they really listened to understand my issues. I can honestly say that they cured my chronic back pain. I didn’t think it was possible, after all these years. I highly recommend this practice. The doctors take the time and do good work.
