Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
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Historical Article
The integration of acupuncture within medicine in the UK--the British Medical Acupuncture Society's 25th anniversary.
Acupuncture was first used in China, probable about 2000 years ago. When acupuncture first arrived in the West in the 17th century, the principles which the Chinese had used to explain its actions were at variance with current scientific knowledge of the body's structure and function. This led to the rejection of acupuncture by the medical profession in the UK, although individual practitioners adopted it with enthusiasm, usually needling the point of maximal tenderness to treat musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ The Society has shown a particular interest in acupuncture for myofascial trigger point pain. Members of the Society have contributed to the evidence base of acupuncture with several books, clinical trials and reviews. The Society is optimistic that it will have an increasingly important role in promoting the use and scientific evaluation of acupuncture for the public benefit.
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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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The work of a chronic back pain service in secondary care in the West Midlands is reported. The service offers acupuncture, spinal injection procedures, osteopathy and a range of other interventions for patients whose back pain has not responded to conservative management. This section of the report focuses on injection procedures for lumbar facet joint and sacroiliac joint pain, which have been shown to be the cause of chronic low back pain in 16-40% and 13-19% of patients respectively. ⋯ At six month follow up, 50% of 38 patients undergoing radiofrequency denervation following diagnostic blocks for facet joint pain had improved by more than 50%, compared to 29% of 34 patients treated with intra-articular corticosteroid injection. Sixty three per cent of 19 patients undergoing prolotherapy following diagnostic block injection for sacroiliac joint pain had improved at six months, compared to 33% of 33 who had intra-articular corticosteroid. Both radiofrequency denervation and sacroiliac prolotherapy showed good long-term outcomes at one year.
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The study investigates the outcome of acupuncture for chronic neck pain in a cohort of patients referred to an NHS chronic pain clinic. One hundred and seventy two patients were selected for acupuncture over a period of 6.5 years. Treatment was given by a single acupuncturist and consisted of a course of needle acupuncture for an average of seven sessions per patient. ⋯ The success rate was higher in patients with a short duration of pain: 85% in patients with pain for up to three months and 78% with pain for up to six months. Long-term follow up showed that 49% of the patients who completed treatment had maintained the benefit after six months, and 40% at one year. The results indicate that acupuncture can be an effective treatment for selected patients with chronic neck pain.
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To summarise the range and frequency of significant adverse events associated with acupuncture in order to provide evidence on which to base continuing efforts to improve the safety of acupuncture practice. ⋯ The risk of serious events occurring in association with acupuncture is very low, below that of many common medical treatments. The range of adverse events reported is wide and some events, specifically trauma and some episodes of infection, are likely to be avoidable.