Acupuncture is an integrative approach that takes the whole body into consideration when addressing pain management. In the United States, acupuncture is recommended as a part of comprehensive pain care by:
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The Joint Commission (TJC)
American College of Physicians (ACP)
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
In 2018, researchers conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating chronic pain conditions. After examining 39 trials of 20,827 patients, the study authors found clear evidence that acupuncture is effective in treating chronic pain.
After patients received their course of treatments, the data revealed:
Patients who received acupuncture had significantly less pain than those who received sham acupuncture or no acupuncture.
The pain-relieving effects of acupuncture were still 85% present one year after treatments ended, making acupuncture one of the few treatments with evidence of durable and long-term pain relief.
From the same patient dataset, a separate meta-analysis reported that patients with more severe pain at baseline experienced more benefit from acupuncture. This means that the more severe the pain is, the more effective acupuncture may be.
Please give us a call at 301.880.3232 and it will be our pleasure to schedule a comprehensive evaluation for you.
References:
Vickers AJ, Vertosick EA, Lewith G, et al. Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. J Pain. 2018;19(5):455-474. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005
Witt CM, Vertosick EA, Foster NE, et al. The Effect of Patient Characteristics on Acupuncture Treatment Outcomes: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis of 20,827 Chronic Pain Patients in Randomized Controlled Trials. Clin J Pain. 2019;35(5):428-434. doi:10.1097/AJP.0000000000000691
Vickers, A. J., Cronin, A. M., Maschino, A. C., Lewith, G., MacPherson, H., Foster, N. E., Sherman, K. J., Witt, C. M., Linde, K., & Acupuncture Trialists’ Collaboration, for the. (2012). Acupuncture for Chronic Pain. Archives of Internal Medicine, 172(19), 1444.