Top Stories - Posted by Andrew Duff-Southampton on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 14:51 - 8 Comments 
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Acupuncture beats placebo for pain relief
"We have shown that the pain relief effect of true acupuncture was slightly better than that of placebo acupuncture, which suggests differences between styles or practitioners of acupuncture are unlikely. However the pain relief difference between acupuncture and usual care alone was much larger and it is this difference that is most relevant to doctors and patients," says Professor George Lewith. (Credit: KayVee.INC/Flickr)
U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — Acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic pain, according to a new study comparing real acupuncture with a placebo version and usual care alone.
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The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
Researchers from the University of Southampton, with colleagues in the UK and the US, analyzed raw individual patient data.
This approach allows for more statistically precise results—for 17,922 participants enrolled in 29 high quality, randomized trials, which took place over a number of years, that measured how well acupuncture relieved chronic pain associated with chronic back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, shoulder pain, and chronic headache.
The trials compared the pain relief benefit of acupuncture to either usual care alone, to sham (placebo) acupuncture in which the needles are inserted superficially or at a non-traditional site, while others compared all three methods.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows for each of the four conditions, acupuncture’s pain relief benefit was statistically superior to both usual care and placebo acupuncture.
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese form of treatment that involves the insertion of fine disposable needles into acupuncture points on the body. It usually involves a series of four to eight treatment sessions with six to 10 needles to obtain sustained benefit for pain.
According to lead author Andrew Vickers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, many of the estimated three million American adults who receive acupuncture treatment each year use it to ease chronic pain, but its clinical impact has never been convincingly demonstrated. Vickers is also attending research methodologist of the study.
“There are very few treatments for chronic pain supported by the findings of an individual patient data meta-analysis such as ours, which uses a large number of patients taking part in high quality, randomized trials and we hope these findings will inform future clinical and policy decisions for acupuncture,” says Vickers.
In the UK, acupuncture is available both privately and through the National Health Service for pain relief and it is estimated that more than half a million British people each year have acupuncture for pain relief.
George Lewith, professor of health research at the University of Southampton and a study co-author, believes these definitive findings will give acupuncture recognition as a treatment and encourage clinicians to recommend it as a safe and effective treatment.
“Acupuncture is a treatment that is not readily recommended by clinicians but these results will confirm that the effects of acupuncture are beneficial for the patient,” he says.
“We have shown that the pain relief effect of true acupuncture was slightly better than that of placebo acupuncture, which suggests differences between styles or practitioners of acupuncture are unlikely. However the pain relief difference between acupuncture and usual care alone was much larger and it is this difference that is most relevant to doctors and patients.”
Hugh MacPherson, senior research fellow at the University of York, adds: “The uncertainty as to whether acupuncture is simply a placebo has led to some discomfort about referring patients with chronic pain to an acupuncturist, however the results from this new study show unequivocally that acupuncture is more than a placebo.”
The meta-analysis is ongoing as more high-quality, randomized acupuncture trials are completed.
The research was supported by grants from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, the Samueli Institute, and the National Institute for Health Research in England. Researchers from the Universities of Keele and York also contributed to the study.
Source: University of Southampton
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8 Comments
Old Man
dave
Over 70% of medical research is considered inadequate. Over 85% of medical practices arent evidence based. 40% of medical tests are considered faulty. Its remarkable how critics of alternative medicine like to posture that standard treatments have a solid research base- when in fact they do not. Miracle treatments like darvon, thalodomide, vioxx-now off the market- Vicodin and percocet were slated to be removed from the market.
Old men of science wish to point a finger at treatments they dont subscribe to while failing to be objective regarding the treatments they are predisposed to-how ironic is that.
Thanks for providing this information this information helps a lot but my on view on Acupuncture is a traditional form of oriental medicine which originated in China and is being practiced by therapists all over the world now. Acupuncture treatment consists of inserting very fine needles at
specific points on the skin, which are located near nerve endings. The acupuncture points are located along the 12 identified channels (meridians) through which the vital energy(Qi) and blood flows in the body.
Thanks a lot once again.:)
This is so exciting to me! I have been waiting a long time to hear that traditional doctors are starting to accept acupuncture more and more. I wish more would jump on the bandwagon. You would think the people who still say it is a joke would realize that all these studies have been done and published that prove its benefits are huge. Why would something be around for this long if it was ineffective. Great news!
R
I would suggest that everyone read the Science-Based Medicine articles critical of this study. The methodology and conclusions are problematic, but the media is reporting it as a complete confirmation of acupuncture (which it isn’t, and that’s not how scientific research works, anyway). This article is no different- I would implore all to read other analyses of the study. Acupuncture is still unscientific and unproven.
Marnie
In response to “Old Man” and “R”, while I do agree that this does not prove anything, I am also a firm believer in Acupunture (as I have tried it a few times and found INSTANT relief in the severe TMJ pain I was experiencing.) My thoughts are, if it is indeed only a placebo effect, then what’s the down side to that? Acupunture doesn’t claim to cure one’s ailments, only to aid in relief from their painful symptoms. Placebo or not, if a patient experiences this relief, then the treatment has done it’s job, has it not?
The only skeptics of Acupunture seem to be those who have not tried it, so I urge you, the next time you have a sore joint involving ligaments, tendons, or muscles, just give it a try for few sessions and see for yourself! Placebo or not, it works!
Appreciating the time and energy you put into your blog and in depth information you present.
It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information.
Fantastic read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS
feeds to my Google account.
I think that acupuncture (and moxibustion) is the only “alternative” medical system, which is really useful..
“Slightly better” is a subjective description and does not show statistical significance. The findings are dubious at best since they were funded by the National Center for CAM. Another is the difficulty of controlling for confounding variables. There was also no “no” acupuncture (were only pressure is applied and no needle in inserted at all) . The results will need to be repeated to show reliability since I would suspect this is an anomaly. “Ancient” is a relative term used to describe a technique which is a few centuries old. Mad as usual the researchers fail to explain what (if any) is the cause for the alleged relief. This only shows subjective findings as pain and pain relief is in the “eye of the beholder.” Until research can show a mechanism causing “effect” the results are anecdotal at best.