Does Acupuncture Really Work?
Acupuncture is an alternative medical treatment practiced by the Chinese for 2,000 years. Fine needles inserted into a person's skin at specific points are said to affect the meridians, or channels of energy, in the body in order to block pain or eliminate anxiety. After Westerners witnessed Chinese surgeons perform operations using acupuncture in lieu of anesthesia in the 1970s, the method became popular outside Asia. However, many traditional medicine professionals denounce it as a placebo—the “sugar pill" effect.
What, then, is the truth about acupuncture? Can it really prevent pain and reduce anxiety, or is the technique—as its critics claim—akin to quackery?
Significantly large clinical trials with impeccable scientific protocol provide the only evidence accepted for medical treatment outcomes, so let's take a look at relevant research. In September, 2012, a report published in the prestigious Archives of Internal Medicine detailed results of the largest acupuncture analysis ever performed. This mega-analysis involved 29 high-quality clinical trials involving 17,922 patients in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.
Patients experienced various types of chronic pain and were being treated for it by their doctors with conventional drugs or therapeutic exercises. Acupuncture was added as a complementary treatment. Not only was acupuncture shown to work better than a placebo, it was twice as effective for treating the chronic pain of headaches and arthritis as traditional medication and/or physical therapy.
Dr. Andrew Vickers, expert in biostatistics and research methods at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, was a lead author of the research paper. He said patients described their pain as only half as bad after acupuncture as it had been after standard treatment. The magnitude of participation in this analysis is so large the result is statistically significant. Nearly 18,000 patients could not experience a placebo effect that reduced their pain levels by 50%.
Acupuncture is now accepted as a viable alternative treatment by the UK's National Health Service. About 15,000 NHS doctors and physiotherapists are trained to perform it. Acupuncture is recommended for back pain and arthritis by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Moreover, in spite of detractors, it is becoming more widely used in the United States. Acupuncture is employed in the treatment of cancer patients in America for a broad range of psychological symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia, that impair the quality of life. As of 2014, the National Institutes of Health position is that published studies demonstrate acupuncture is safe for cancer patients to treat these symptoms, with most results statistically significant and more acceptable, with fewer side effects than standard pharmacological treatments, including antidepressants. While results are encouraging, the agency recommends further high-quality research.
In fact, people often choose acupuncture instead of traditional medicine to avoid side effects or the addiction to painkilling drugs a danger of long-term use. Acupuncture seems to work by stimulating pathways in the brain that produce the body's natural painkillers, endorphins.
The method is not, however, completely without danger. There is a risk of collapsing a lung with the needles used in acupuncture. Practitioners must be trained to maintain an awareness of this risk and avoid harm to the patient. A small area of punctured lung may not collapse and can heal on its own without treatment, but this decision must be made by a qualified physician who can act quickly if necessary.
Statistics of lung puncture incidents during acupuncture are unavailable for the U.S. and UK, but a German study found only two cases of punctured lung out of 2.2 million acupuncture treatments. This is a minimal and acceptable outcome if benefits outweigh risks.
Of course, if it's your lung in danger of puncture, you probably have a different definition of “acceptability." If you choose to pursue acupuncture treatment in the U.S., you should select only a certified and licensed acupuncturist. An Internet search can tell you whether a specific practitioner is the subject of any censures or practice-related litigation. There are thousands of acupuncturists listed here on Wellness.com for your research.
U.S. acupuncturists are required to attend a graduate level, accredited program in order to be licensed. Forty-three states require certification by a national commission, with more stringent certification requirements in some states. Licensure is bestowed by a state's health board, and acupuncturists are usually required to obtain continuing education credits for periodic recertification to retain their licenses.
Acupuncture, while more accepted today, is still a controversial alternative treatment. If you decide it's for you, remember that this therapy treats symptoms only, not the causes of those symptoms. You should still consult with your doctor for diagnosis and advice to ensure no serious health issue goes undetected and treated.
If acupuncture gives you much-needed relief from pain or anxiety, you probably won't care HOW it works. Leave that mission to the scientists.
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I could find no evidence of the studies referenced. As a medical professional I offer that a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) can be spontaneous. In other words... due to no apparent cause. Needle lung biopsies are made with much longer and larger needles that acupuncture ones.
Properly administered, very fine acupuncture needles are inserted only a few millimeters into the skin not the 3 or more inches required to reach the lung of a healthy adult.
As an acupuncture consumer, I can testify that in excess of 100 treatments over 10 years I have excellent results with back and hip pain AND emotional issues.
This article is crap.
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