Chronic Pain Research
Recent chronic pain research employing individual patient data and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, provides clear evidence that acupuncture is helpful for chronic pain. This study is welcome news to us, as practitioners, who know the benefits of acupuncture. Most people want research to prove the “word of mouth” information showing that acupuncture works to resolve pain. These studies are now seeing the light of day.
Chronic Pain Patients Need More Options
Although millions of Americans use acupuncture each year, often for chronic pain, there has been some controversy surrounding its value as a therapy and whether it is anything more than a placebo. Research exploring a number of possible mechanisms for acupuncture’s pain-relieving effects is ongoing.
Researchers from the Acupuncture Trial Collaboration, a group that was established to collect data from high-quality randomized trials on acupuncture for chronic pain, conducted patient data from 29 high-quality randomized controlled trials, totalling 17,922 people. These trials investigated the use of acupuncture for back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, shoulder pain, or chronic headache.
Back, Neck, Shoulder Pain, Arthritis & Headaches
For all pain types studied, this chronic pain research found large differences between acupuncture and fake acupuncture points, and even larger differences between acupuncture and a no acupuncture.
In traditional acupuncture, needles are inserted at specific points on the body. Simulated acupuncture includes a variety of approaches which mimic this procedure; some approaches do not pierce the skin or use specific points on the body. The sizes of the effects were generally similar across all pain conditions studied.
The authors noted that these findings suggest that the total effects of acupuncture, as experienced by patients in clinical practice, are clinically relevant. They also noted that their study provides the most robust evidence to date that acupuncture is more than just placebo and a reasonable referral option for patients with chronic pain.
What These Findings Mean To You
When the NIH puts its support behind a medical technique, you can trust that support. This chronic pain research validates acupuncture as an important medical treatment. Early on, research was scarce and patients had to rely on anecdotal information, hoping acupuncture would help their chronic pain. Now, as more solid research is being conducted with acupuncture, patients can know for certain that acupuncture is a true, effective form of medicine.
Next Steps
The practitioners at Raleigh Acupuncture Associates are highly trained and devoted to helping you find relief from chronic pain.
BOOK NOW to schedule an appointment online. Or call us at 919-819-8113. We’ll be happy to talk with you about how acupuncture can address your chronic pain needs.
To learn more about how we treat pain click PAIN CONDITIONS WE TREAT.
For information about all the conditions we treat with acupuncture click ALL CONDITIONS WE TREAT.
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