The Acupuncture Hat Trick – Three Recent Studies
Jun 25th, 2008 | By admin | Category: Acupuncture, Alternative MedicineAcupuncture has been all over the news lately in the form of a series of studies that examine its effectiveness in a number of areas. Some of the news is good, some less so. We’ll start with the good…
A study conducted by the University of British Columbia has found that acupuncture can be an effective treatment for drug addiction. Researchers at the University ran a three month program where they found that a statistically significant percentage of drug users who took part reduced their drug use after being treated with acupuncture. Many of the addicts who volunteered for the study said that they felt that acupuncture was a more natural alternative to methadone.
The journal Obstetrics & Gynecology also had good acupuncture news for another group: women suffering from overactive bladders. The 85 women participating in the study were each treated using acupuncture points on the body that are though to affect bladder control. After treatment, the women reported fewer trips to the bathroom and a reduced urgency to urinate.
Sufferers of fibromyalgia were not so acupuncturally fortunate. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that properly-performed acupuncture was no more effective at treating fibromyalgia than “sham” treatments which included inserting needles where there were no acupuncture points and simulated acupuncture, where needles didn’t actually pierce the skin. Researchers did note a slight improvement at the beginning of the study (which then leveled off and didn’t increase), but were unsure if this was due to an overall boost provided by acupuncture, or an “air of expectation” among the study’s participants.
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