Complementary therapies in medicine
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2008
Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with cluster headache: results of a multi-centre headache clinic survey.
To evaluate the rates, pattern, satisfaction with, and presence of predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in a clinical population of patients with cluster headache (CH). ⋯ Our findings suggest that CH patients, in their need of and quest for care, seek and explore both conventional and CAM approaches, even though only a very small minority finds them very satisfactory.
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Complement Ther Med · Jun 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialAcupuncture for acute non-specific low back pain: a pilot randomised non-penetrating sham controlled trial.
A pilot study to assess the feasibility of a trial to investigate the efficacy of acupuncture compared to placebo needling for the treatment of acute low back pain (LBP). As part of this, the study was designed to establish the credibility of the placebo control, and to provide data to inform a power analysis to determine numbers for a future trial. ⋯ This study has demonstrated the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of penetrating needle acupuncture compared to a non-penetrating sham for the treatment of acute LBP in primary care; 120 participants would be required in a fully powered trial. The placebo needle used in this study proved to be a credible form of control.
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Complement Ther Med · Jun 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialAn experimental study on the effectiveness of massage with aromatic ginger and orange essential oil for moderate-to-severe knee pain among the elderly in Hong Kong.
To assess the efficacy of an aromatic essential oil (1% Zingiber officinale and 0.5% Citrus sinesis) massage among the elderly with moderate-to-severe knee pain. ⋯ The aroma-massage therapy seems to have potential as an alternative method for short-term knee pain relief.
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Complement Ther Med · Apr 2008
Self-help advice as a process integral to traditional acupuncture care: implications for trial design.
In the literature on acupuncture research, the active (or specific) component of acupuncture is almost always presented as acupuncture needling alone. However, specific components, by definition, should include all interventions driven by acupuncture theory that are also believed to be causally associated with outcome. In this paper, we explore the delivery of self-help advice as a component of the process of acupuncture care, and discuss the implications for future trial designs. ⋯ Within acupuncture care, self-help advice is not seen as an 'add-on' but rather as an integral and interactive component of a theory-based complex intervention. Studies designed to evaluate the overall effectiveness of traditional acupuncture should accommodate the full range of therapeutic components, strategies and related patient-centred treatment processes. In acupuncture trials, non-needling components, such as self-help advice, when drawn directly from the diagnosis and integral to the process of care, should not be misclassified as incidental, non-specific, or placebo if we are to accurately assess the value of treatment as delivered.