Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
-
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.
-
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.
-
This case history gives the unusual presentation of piriformis syndrome as the immediate cause of symptoms for a patient with spinal stenosis and non Hodgkin's lymphoma in a palliative care setting. It also details the relief and subsequent resolution of symptoms with acupuncture where strong opioids and neuropathic agents such as gabapentin and ketamine were providing only minimal relief.
-
Although electroacupuncture (EA) therapy is used to relieve various kinds of pain, the optimal frequency and duration of EA remain unclear. We investigated the effect of varying frequency and duration of EA during hyperalgesia elicited by carrageenan-induced inflammation. ⋯ These results show that EA produces electroacupuncture analgesia of carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia. These findings also suggest that, among the frequencies and durations tested, EA at 3Hz (60 minutes) is the most suitable frequency and duration for carrageenan-induced inflammation. It seems that EA has different analgesic effects and mechanisms according to the parameters of stimulation. For EA in the clinical induction of analgesia, it is especially important that an effective frequency and duration are selected.