Category: Pain

American researchers have reported that acupuncture is a feasible treatment to relieve pain in the hospital intensive care unit (ICU). Forty-six patients in ICU who were experiencing pain and/or nausea, received three 20 minute acupuncture treatments in addition to usual care.

Self-reported pain levels decreased by a mean 2.4 points on a 10-point scale, a reduction which exceeds the commonly accepted threshold for clinically relevant analgesia. A significant decrease in morphine usage was observed after each treatment. Additionally, 49% of patients spontaneously reported a reduction in anxiety. No major adverse effects were reported.

(Acupuncture for Pain and Nausea in the Intensive Care Unit: A Feasibility Study in a Public Safety Net Hospital. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, April 2017.)

Researchers in York funded by the National Institute for Health Research, have assimilated evidence from high-quality trials of acupuncture for chronic pain, including neck and lower back pain, osteoarthritis of the knee, and headache and migraine. Altogether, nearly 18,000 patients were included.

They concluded that acupuncture was more effective than both usual care and sham acupuncture, and that acupuncture is one of the more clinically effective physical therapies for osteoarthritis.

(Acupuncture for chronic pain and depression in primary care: a programme of research. NIHR Journals Library, January 2017.)

A meta-analysis of 20 high-quality randomised trials of acupuncture for chronic pain, shows the beneficial effects of acupuncture persist for at least 12 months. The studies covered data on 6376 patients for conditions such as lower back, neck, and shoulder pain, plus osteoarthritis of the knee, and headache/migraine. The researchers found that in studies comparing acupuncture with a non-acupuncture control such as usual care etc, about 90% of the benefit of acupuncture relative to controls, was sustained 12 months after treatment. In trials comparing acupuncture with sham, the corresponding figure was 50%.

The authors conclude that patients can be reassured that acupuncture offers long-term relief for chronic pain, and that this should be taken into account when assessing the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture.

(The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: A meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain. Pain, online 17 October 2016.)

A retrospective chart review by doctors at a major Veterans Affairs Medical Centre located in the southeastern United States, suggests that auricular (ear) acupuncture is effective in treating stubborn pain conditions. The review covered 147 patients who had received auricular acupuncture for common pain conditions, including body pain and headaches. Most veterans received fewer than three treatments, separated by three to five months. Patients’ mean pain scores decreased by almost 60%. The majority (84%) reported that treatment was helpful, with treatment benefits lasting one to three months in 47% of patients.

(A case series of auricular acupuncture in a veterans population using a revised auricular mapping-diagnostic paradigm (RAMP-uP). Complementary Therapies in Medicine, August 2016.)

A study undertaken in the Emergency Department of a hospital in Tunisia, has found that compared to morphine, acupuncture is associated with more rapid and effective pain relief, and is better tolerated.

Doctors allocated 300 patients with moderate to severe acute pain, to receive either acupuncture or intravenous morphine. Successful analgesia was defined as a drop in pain intensity of at least 50% from baseline. In the acupuncture group, a success rate of 92% was obtained, whereas the corresponding figure in the morphine group was 78%. Pain resolution time was 16 minutes in the acupuncture group, versus 28 minutes in the morphine group. Adverse effects were significantly fewer in the acupuncture group (4) compared with the morphine group (85).

The authors conclude that acupuncture should be considered in today’s increasingly complicated and polymedicated patients to avoid adverse drug reactions.

(Acupuncture versus intravenous morphine in the management of acute pain in the ED. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 20 July 2016.)