EVIDENCE AND RESEARCH ON ACUPUNCTURE
Is there any evidence on acupuncture and my health problem?
Research has been conducted into many symptoms and conditions. The Acupuncture Research and Resource Centre publishes research on the British Acupuncture Council's website. The links below enable you to click on the condition you're interested in, to access a very fair evaluation of what acupuncture can do for you:
Acupuncture and Allergic rhinitis, Acupuncture and Anxiety, Acupuncture and Back pain, Acupuncture and Bell's palsy, Acupuncture and Childbirth, Acupuncture and Chronic fatigue syndrome, Acupuncture and Chronic pain, Acupuncture and Colds and flu, Acupuncture and Dentistry, Acupuncture and Depression, Acupuncture and Endometriosis, Acupuncture and Female Fertility, Acupuncture and Fybromyalgia, Acupuncture and Frozen Shoulder, Acupuncture and Gastro-intestinal tract disorders, Acupuncture and Insomnia, Acupuncture and IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome), Acupuncture and Male Fertility, Acupuncture and Menopausal symptoms, Acupuncture and Migraines, Acupuncture and Nausea and vomiting, Acupuncture and Post-operative pain, Acupuncture and Sciatica, Acupuncture and Sinusitis, Acupuncture and Stress, Acupuncture and Tinnitus, Acupuncture and Urinary incontinence.
There is further information on the website of the World Health Organisation which publishes lists of conditions which may be treated by acupuncture, categorised into the level of effectiveness evidenced by research. Additional information may also be found on the Research page on this website.
How is research into acupuncture conducted?
Research on acupuncture has been conducted for many years in China, where acupuncture treatment is given as part of their health system. In recent years more and more research has been carried out in the West, often comparing acupuncture treatment with conventional treatment or no treatment; or comparing traditional acupuncture, sham acupuncture and conventional or no treatment. Sham acupuncture is administered in different ways, for example pressing a tube on to an acupuncture point and appearing to insert a needle through it - however the needle does not penetrate the skin, although it appears to do so. Another method is to insert a needle into a site which is not an acupuncture point. Interestingly, in some trials, sham acupuncture appears to be almost as effective as real acupuncture - this may be due to a placebo effect, or to the acupressure effect of the tube being pressed on the skin as argued in this BMJ article by Stephen Birch.
How reliable is the evidence about acupuncture?
The gold standard for medical research in the UK is the randomised double-blind controlled trial. It is possible in acupuncture trials for the patients not to know what treatment they are receiving but the nature of traditional acupuncture makes it impossible for the practitioner not to know what they are administering, as the acupuncturist has to locate the points he/she is needling.
Despite these difficulties, some research has been accepted as offering more or less conclusive evidence of acupuncture's effectiveness, for example in treating nausea, vomiting and dental pain, and providing short-term relief of tension-type headache
Your acupuncturist
Dwara Young MSc DipAc MBAcC.
Dwara is an experienced, professionally trained acupuncturist and a member of the British Acupuncture Council. She has been in practice since 1992.
If you would like to have a chat with her before making an appointment, do phone the practice nearest you and ask Dwara to get in touch with you, or email dwara@acupuncture-bristol.co.uk, putting "Enquiry from website" as your subject heading.
Clifton Physiotherapy
111 Pembroke Road
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 3EU
0117 970 6390
Link
on Google Maps
Trinity Osteopathic Practice
42 Bell Street
Shaftesbury
Dorset SP7 8AE
01747 851 726
Link on Google Maps