Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effects of trigger point acupuncture on chronic low back pain in elderly patients--a sham-controlled randomised trial.
There is some evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture, but it remains unclear whether trigger point acupuncture is effective. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of trigger point acupuncture on pain and quality of life in chronic low back pain patients compared with sham acupuncture. ⋯ These results suggest that trigger point acupuncture may have greater short term effects on low back pain in elderly patients than sham acupuncture.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effects of laser acupuncture on chronic tension headache--a randomised controlled trial.
Headache affects the quality of life for many people throughout the world. Tension headache is among the commonest forms. Acupuncture is the most widely practised non-medicinal treatment for headaches. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of laser acupuncture in this type of headache. ⋯ This study suggests that laser acupuncture may be an effective treatment for chronic tension-type headache, but the results should be confirmed in larger and more rigorous trials.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Trigger point acupuncture treatment of chronic low back pain in elderly patients--a blinded RCT.
There is some evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture in chronic low back pain, but it remains unclear which acupuncture modes are most effective. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of two different modes of trigger point acupuncture on pain and quality of life in chronic low back pain patients compared to standard acupuncture treatment. ⋯ These results suggest that deep needling to trigger points may be more effective in the treatment of low back pain in elderly patients than either standard acupuncture therapy, or superficial needling to trigger points.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Acupuncture for low back pain in pregnancy--a prospective, quasi-randomised, controlled study.
This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of acupuncture in low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy under real life conditions, as compared with patients undergoing conventional treatment alone. A total of 61 conventionally treated pregnant women were allocated randomly into two groups to be treated or not by acupuncture. Twenty-seven patients formed the study group and 34 the control group. ⋯ The capacity to perform general activities, to work and to walk was improved significantly more in the study group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The use of paracetamol was lower in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01). These results indicate that acupuncture seems to alleviate low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy, as well as to increase the capacity for some physical activities and to diminish the need for drugs, which is a great advantage during this period.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effect of acupuncture on the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis--an open randomised controlled study.
Using an open randomised controlled study, we examined the effectiveness of manual and electroacupuncture on symptom relief for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. ⋯ We conclude that manual and electroacupuncture causes a significant improvement in the symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee, either on its own or as an adjunct therapy, with no loss of benefit after one month.