Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Point injection as an alternative acupuncture technique--an exploratory study of responses in healthy subjects.
Point injection as a therapeutic technique is well documented, but its physiological effects have not been formally compared with traditional acupuncture. One aim of this study was to compare the effects of the two techniques at one acupuncture point, as a step towards understanding the mode of action of point injection and validating its clinical use. A second aim was to explore whether repeated point injection at the same site might provide a way of increasing the dose of stimulation, in the hope of identifying a dose response curve which could be an alternative strategy to placebo control in demonstrating the biological effects of acupuncture. ⋯ Point injection and traditional acupuncture seem to provoke similar physiological responses, although the greater needle sensation seen with point injection might indicate it could have more powerful clinical effects. Further studies of repeated point injection are necessary to indicate whether this technique may provide a method of increased strength of point stimulation, as an alternative to traditional needling in acupuncture research.
-
There is growing evidence about the effectiveness of acupuncture in the short term treatment of chronic low back pain but little is known about long term outcomes. To address this question we followed up participants of a past randomised controlled trial of acupuncture to assess outcomes after 5.5 to 7 years. ⋯ We theorise that exposure to a short course of acupuncture speeds natural recovery from a back pain episode, but improvements plateau after two years. Acupuncture is often accessed privately for long term management of back pain but is rarely available within the health service. While our study methods were robust, the low response rate means that our findings should be interpreted with caution.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Acupuncture needling versus lidocaine injection of trigger points in myofascial pain syndrome in elderly patients--a randomised trial.
To compare the efficacy of acupuncture needling and 0.5% lidocaine injection of trigger points in myofascial pain syndrome of elderly patients. ⋯ There was no significant difference between acupuncture needling and 0.5% lidocaine injection of trigger points for treating myofascial pain syndrome in elderly patients.
-
Fibromyalgia is a common cause of chronic widespread pain. The benefit of medication is often limited by its side effects, and the improvements obtained with exercise and education are inconsistent. Many patients seek acupuncture treatment, which is reported to be helpful in some cases. This study aimed to explore the acceptability and benefits of acupuncture offered in the setting of a tertiary referral clinic. ⋯ Acupuncture appears to offer symptomatic improvement to some patients with fibromyalgia in a tertiary clinic who have failed to respond to other treatments. In view of its safety, further acupuncture research is justified in this population.
-
The analgesic effects of moxibustion on an experimental model of osteoarthritis of the knee were investigated. ⋯ These results highlight the importance of repeated moxibustion treatments for pain relief in experimental knee osteoarthritis and suggest the existence of sustained inhibitory modulation by endogenous opioids in the moxibustion group.