Acupuncture has been used in China for over two thousand years and has been increasingly accepted all over the world over recent years. Some people argue it’s no more than placebo or, in other words, all in the mind.
There’s no doubt that acupuncture does have a powerful placebo effect involving, as it does, inserting needles into the body. But then, so does giving an injection.
There is plenty of research that does show genuine acupuncture is not all in the mind and has a real effect over and above that exerted by sham or pretend acupuncture.
A recent meta-analysis (considered the best form of scientific evidence) looked at the use of acupuncture in four conditions causing long-term pain: Back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain. The researchers analysed a total of 29 trials involving nearly 18,000 patients. They found that acupuncture was more effective than either ‘sham’ acupuncture or no treatment for all four conditions. Even after excluding the trials that were most positive about acupuncture the overall benefit of acupuncture was clear. People treated with acupuncture suffered significantly less pain than those treated with ‘sham’ acupuncture or those on no treatment.
Another area where there has been recent interest in acupuncture is that of fertility treatment and, in particular, its use in IVF (in vitro fertilization). Scientists examined seven trials involving 1366 women who were undergoing IVF. They found that women receiving acupuncture around the time of egg implantation were 65 percent more likely to become pregnant than those who received sham or no acupuncture. They were also 87 percent more likely to continue to have an ongoing pregnancy and nearly twice as likely to give birth to a live baby.
Another recent review on the use of acupuncture for period pain (dysmenorrhoea) found that not only was it effective at relieving period pain but it appeared to be more effective than the commonly used anti-inflammatory painkillers most often prescribed by GPs.
Perhaps surprisingly, there is more scientific evidence supporting the use of acupuncture to treat nausea and vomiting than for any other condition. A review of 33 controlled trials involving thousands of patients found that acupuncture was superior to controls in the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy, surgery and chemotherapy. The treatment usually centres around one point on the forearm a little above the wrist called Neiguan (meaning Inner Pass) and also known as point PC6. There is no rational Western explanation why needling this particular point should relieve nausea and vomiting but lots of research and clinical experience confirm its effectiveness.