American researchers have shown that acupuncture helps posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans. In a randomised trial, 93 combat veterans aged 18 to 55 with PTSD, were assigned to either a true acupuncture group or to a sham acupuncture group. Participants were given up to 24 one-hour treatments over 15 weeks at an outpatient clinic in California. The primary outcome measure was change in PTSD symptom severity.
The results showed a large treatment effect for true acupuncture, and a moderate effect for sham, with a significant difference between the two groups. Treatment withdrawal rates were low, suggesting acupuncture was well-tolerated. The researchers conclude that the acupuncture intervention used in this study was clinically efficacious and favourably affected the psychobiology of PTSD .
(Acupuncture for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association-Psychiatry, 1 June 2024.)