A 2019 anxiety acupuncture research study found that acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs was a highly effective treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Researchers at Ganzhou City Third People’s Hospital in Jiangxi, China, conducted the clinical trial and determined that not only was Chinese medicine (acupuncture and herbs) effective, but it was more effective than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Outcome Measures
Study outcome measures included the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and the treatment total effective rate. Although both groups saw improvements across all areas, they were more significant in the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) group, with an effective rate of 97.5% compared with 80% in the medication group.
Participants
Investigators randomly chose eighty patients diagnosed with GAD to receive treatment with either Paroxetine (an SSRI medication) or acupuncture and herbs. The Paroxetine group included 27 male and 13 female patients, ages 21–71 years (average age 38). Of these patients, 23 had a college degree or above, 12 finished high school, and five completed junior high.
The TCM group consisted of 26 male and 14 female patients, ages 20–73 years (average age 38). This group included 25 college graduates or above, 11 high school graduates, and four who completed junior high school. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.
Inclusion Criteria
All participants had a clinical diagnosis of GAD with a Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale score less than 29 but greater than 14. They also had a TCM pattern diagnosis of Liver Qi stagnation transforming into Fire. Their symptoms included headaches, dizziness, dry mouth with a bitter taste, stuffiness in the chest, and irritability. Exclusion criteria included elevated liver enzymes, heart irregularities, abnormal renal function index, anxiety combined with depression, pregnancy, and cognitive impairment.
Anxiety Acupuncture Research Treatment
Patients in the Paroxetine group received a 20 mg dose of the medication daily after breakfast. This dose was increased to a maximum of 60 mg if needed. Patients in the TCM group received acupuncture and Chinese herbal formula Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San. This classic formula is commonly used in TCM to treat anxiety due to Liver Qi stagnation transforming into Fire. It clears heat and dampness, smooths the liver to relieve depression, promotes healthy liver function, benefits liver blood, and strengthens the spleen. The formula used in this anxiety acupuncture research study included the following herbs:
Chao Zhi Zi 15g
Mu Dan Pi 15g
Bai Shao 15g
Bo He 15g
Fo Shou 15g
Chai Hu 15g
Fu Ling 15g
Bai Zhu 15g
Dang Gui 9g
Sheng Jiang 9g
Gan Cao 3g
Each day, the herbs were boiled in water to a volume of 300 ml and divided into two 150 ml doses. Participants in the acupuncture and herb group drank the herbs every morning and evening for two weeks. At Raleigh Acupuncture, we give our patients “patent herbs, ” containing the same ingredients but tablet form. As a result, they are easier to take, as they do not require cooking, and they are also much less expensive. In our experience, patient herbal formulas are nearly as effective as raw herbs and allow for greater compliance from the patient.
Acupuncture Points
Acupuncturists used the following acupoints in the anxiety acupuncture research study:
Taichong (LV3)
Shenmen (HT7)
Danzhong (CV17)
Qimen (LV14)
Xingjian (LV2)
The doctors inserted sterile, single-use, hair-thin needles using a balanced reinforcing-reducing method. After obtaining deqi (a slightly achy feeling at the acupoint), patients lay quietly for 30 minutes. Activating the needle with a deqi sensation allows for a more potent treatment. Participants received treatments every day for five days, followed by a two-day rest period for a total of two weeks.
At Raleigh Acupuncture, we activate deqi for patients who feel comfortable with the sensation – it lasts just a moment before quieting. But eliciting this achy sensation is not necessary for all patients. Many of our more sensitive patients do not require needle stimulation for effective treatment – their bodies respond just as well with a more gentle approach. The key to successful acupuncture treatment is understanding each patient’s needs and providing a treatment that meets them where they are. A gentle treatment given to a sensitive patient will result in better outcomes than a strong treatment.
Acupuncture Reduces Anxiety Better Than Medications
Primary outcome measures for the study were the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Hamilton is a 21-item scale addressing various physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety and depression, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. Average pre-treatment Hamilton scores were 27.91 in the Paroxetine group and 27.86 in the TCM group. Following treatment, average Hamilton scores fell to 8.18 in the Paroxetine group and 5.79 in the TCM group.
The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale evaluates various anxiety symptoms and their frequency, with higher scores reflecting more severe symptoms. Average pre-treatment scores were 43.83 in the Paroxetine group and 43.74 in the TCM group. After treatment, average Zung scores fell to 32.80 in the Paroxetine group and 26.43 in the TCM group. While both groups saw significant improvements in both test scores, the TCM group showed more effective outcomes.
Total Effective Rates
In the Paroxetine group, there were seven recovered, 12 markedly improved, 13 improved, and eight ineffective cases, yielding a total effective rate of 80%. In the TCM group, there were 12 recovered, 15 markedly improved, 12 improved, and just one ineffective case, producing a total effective rate of 97.5%. Thus, the TCM success rate was significantly higher than the Paroxetine group.
Anxiety Acupuncture Research Conclusions
The results of this anxiety acupuncture research study clearly show that TCM treatment combining acupuncture and herbs relieves anxiety symptoms and may be more effective than traditional SSRIs such as Paroxetine.
Next Steps
These findings correspond with our own experience at Raleigh Acupuncture. We have been successfully treating patients with anxiety for over fifteen years. Treatments are safe, with no adverse side effects, yielding superior results. As a result, we can often help our patients get off prescription medications, as they feel more relief from their acupuncture and herbal medicine treatments.
BOOK NOW to schedule an appointment online.
Watch Video about our anxiety treatment.
Learn about all the conditions we treat.
Reference
Zhu Haifang, Luo Junting, Fang (2019) “Clinical observation of generalized anxiety disorder with Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture” Contemporary Medicine Vol. 25(7) pp.91-93.
What our Clients are Saying
Acupuncture really helped my anxiety. I highly recommend Raleigh Acupuncture. Very professional, reasonably priced and focused on getting me better quickly. Thank you!
I came in for acupuncture highly skeptical that it would be able to help me. I’m an A-type personality and very wired. I feel like I’ve been anxious my entire life. My wife must have been secretly researching treatments for anxiety because last month she announced that I WOULD be trying acupuncture! She did well picking the practice, as the doctors at Acupuncture Associates were top notch. They explained how acupuncture worked to deal with anxiety and then set about doing it. Well, I wouldn’t be writing this letter if it didn’t work. So you know the outcome. Highly satisfactory! I’m still an A-type guy, but with a fraction of the anxiety. The feelings of dread that were constantly lingering around me are gone. In it’s place I feel a sense of peacefulness, albeit a wired peacefulness.
Ever since we moved to Raleigh I was feeling a great deal more anxiety. It was probably a combination of factors including the stress of the move, looking for work and possibly the weather. My chest would get uncomfortably tight and my heart would race throughout the day. I had taken medications in the past but didn’t want that again. Research on the web led me to Raleigh Acupuncture. They treated me for anxiety and after just one treatment I could feel the difference. I got 9 treatments and am completely better. I will continue coming because it makes me feel so good. I highly suggest acupuncture with them for the treatment of anxiety. It’s much more effective than medications.
I was feeling depressed and stressed because I didn’t like my job and didn’t know what to do with my life. I started taking Lexipro but it really affected my libido so I stopped taking it. I tried acupuncture because my husband said it helped him when he was depressed years earlier (before he met me!) I went to Raleigh Acupuncture and started treatments. They were really knowledgeable about Chinese medicine and explained how the body gets stuck in depression, and how the acupuncture gets the body unstuck. They really listened to me and helped me figure stuff out. I started feeling less depressed. Then I actually started getting more clear about what I wanted to do with my life career-wise. I decided to go back to school and now I’m almost done with my degree. I haven’t felt depressed at all since I was treated and I’m really excited about my life. I’m very grateful to them for being such great healers and such a great support to me when I really needed it.
I’ve had generalized anxiety for years and had been managing it fairly well. But then I lost my job and the anxiety really escalated. I started getting panic attacks every day and dreaded even getting in my car to drive. My sister suggested that I try acupuncture, so I did. I went to Raleigh Acupuncture and explained my situation. They said they treated this condition all the time with excellent results. I was stressed about money too, but they had reasonable fees. They treated me with acupuncture and herbs for the next two months. I know it helped, because my unemployment situation didn’t change but I stopped having panic attacks. Even my regular anxiety decreased – significantly. It’s like my whole body relaxed and things didn’t make me anxious as easily.