Acupuncture: Does it alleviate pain and are there serious risks

NewsBot · Mar 24, 2011

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Acupuncture: Does it alleviate pain and are there serious risks? A review of reviews
E. Ernst, Myeong Soo Leeand Tae-Young Choi
PAIN, Volume 152, Issue 4, April 2011, Pages 711-712,

Acupuncture is commonly used for pain control, but doubts about its effectiveness and safety remain. This review was aimed at critically evaluating systematic reviews of acupuncture as a treatment of pain and at summarizing reports of serious adverse effects published since 2000. Literature searches were carried out in 11 databases without language restrictions. Systematic reviews were considered for the evaluation of effectiveness and case series or case reports for summarizing adverse events. Data were extracted according to predefined criteria. Fifty-seven systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria. Four were of excellent methodological quality. Numerous contradictions and caveats emerged. Unanimously positive conclusions from more than one high-quality systematic review existed only for neck pain. Ninety-five cases of severe adverse effects including 5 fatalities were included. Pneumothorax and infections were the most frequently reported adverse effects. In conclusion, numerous systematic reviews have generated little truly convincing evidence that acupuncture is effective in reducing pain. Serious adverse effects continue to be reported
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In conclusion, many systematic reviews of acupuncture for pain management are available. Yet they only support few indications, and contradictions abound. Acupuncture remains associated with serious adverse effects. In order to minimize the risk, all acupuncturists should be trained adequately.
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NewsBot · Mar 24, 2011

Press Release:
Acupuncture for pain no better than placebo and not without harm
According to new study published in Pain

Although acupuncture is commonly used for pain control, doubts about its effectiveness and safety remain. Investigators from the Universities of Exeter & Plymouth (Exeter, UK) and the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (Daejeon, South Korea) critically evaluated systematic reviews of acupuncture as a treatment of pain in order to explore this question. Reporting in the April 2011 issue of PAIN®, they conclude that numerous systematic reviews have generated little truly convincing evidence that acupuncture is effective in reducing pain, and serious adverse effects continue to be reported.

"Many systematic reviews of acupuncture for pain management are available, yet they only support few indications, and contradictions abound," commented lead investigator Professor Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, Laing Chair in Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth, UK. "Acupuncture remains associated with serious adverse effects. One might argue that, in view of the popularity of acupuncture, the number of serious adverse effects is minute. We would counter, however, that even one avoidable adverse event is one too many. The key to making progress would be to train all acupuncturists to a high level of competency."

Researchers carefully identified and critically examined systematic reviews of acupuncture studies for pain relief and case reviews reporting adverse effects. Reviews were defined as systematic if they included an explicit Methods section describing the search strategy and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Systematic reviews had to focus on the effectiveness of any type of acupuncture for pain. Of the 266 articles found, 56 were categorized as acceptable systematic reviews.

The authors observe that recent results from high-quality randomized controlled trials have shown that various forms of acupuncture, including so-called "sham acupuncture," during which no needles actually penetrate the skin, are equally effective for chronic low back pain, and more effective than standard care. In these and other studies, the effects were attributed to such factors as therapist conviction, patient enthusiasm or the acupuncturist's communication style.

If even sham acupuncture is as good as or better than standard care, then what is the harm? The answer lies in the adverse effect case studies. These studies were grouped into three categories: Infection (38 cases), trauma (42 cases) and other adverse effects (13 cases). Many of these adverse side effects are not intrinsic to acupuncture, but rather result from malpractice of acupuncturists. The most frequently reported complications included pneumothorax, (penetration of the thorax) and bacterial and viral infections. Five patients died after their treatment.

In an accompanying commentary, Harriet Hall, MD, states her position forcefully: "Importantly, when a treatment is truly effective, studies tend to produce more convincing results as time passes and the weight of evidence accumulates. When a treatment is extensively studied for decades and the evidence continues to be inconsistent, it becomes more and more likely that the treatment is not truly effective. This appears to be the case for acupuncture. In fact, taken as a whole, the published (and scientifically rigorous) evidence leads to the conclusion that acupuncture is no more effective than placebo."
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Admin2 · Mar 24, 2011

Related threads:
Other threads tagged with acupuncture

mike weber · Mar 25, 2011

Robert if you read this kind for you and anyone else.

We understand that Placebo can have positive results...

Can Placebo have negative results as well ?

If so Newsbots 2nd post headed - Acupuncture for pain no better than placebo and not without harm.

Maybe the authors could have written Acupuncture for pain maybe worse than placebo...

I guess you get what I mean....

NewsBot · Jan 18, 2022

The Efficacy of Acupuncture on Foot and Ankle for Pain Intensity, Functional Status, and General Quality of Life in Adults: A Systematic Review
Kien Trinh et al
Med Acupunct. 2021 Dec 1;33(6):386-395

Objective: To assess the effect of acupuncture on foot and ankle pain intensity, functional status, quality of life, and incidence of adverse events in adults. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were obtained from a systematic search of 6 major English databases, and a manual search of relevant systematic reviews using Google Scholar. RCTs that compared acupuncture with various forms of sham acupuncture, nonactive and waitlist controls for pain intensity, functional status, and general quality of life were included. Study screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality assessment were all performed independently. A narrative synthesis was performed when quantitative pooling was inappropriate. Results: Four RCTs were included, encompassing a total of 211 participants. Due to clinical heterogeneity for all outcomes, quantitative analysis was not appropriate. Our Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation rated all outcomes to have either low or very low quality of evidence. With low-quality evidence, acupuncture was shown to be efficacious for participants with plantar fasciitis for pain relief and functional status improvement at short- and intermediate-term follow-ups. Acupuncture was also shown to be efficacious for participants with Achilles tendinopathy for pain relief at short- and intermediate-term follow-ups. No adverse events were reported. Conclusion: There is some evidence to suggest acupuncture to be a safe and efficacious treatment for relieving pain and improving functional status for the foot and ankle. The results of this systematic review should be interpreted with caution due to the limited evidence. Future research should take into consideration the findings of this systematic review.
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Acupuncture: Does it alleviate pain and are there serious risks

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mike weber MVP

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Acupuncture: Does it alleviate pain and are there serious risks

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

Admin2 Administrator Staff Member

mike weber MVP

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

Acupuncture treatment for tinea pedis

The Efficacy of Acupuncture on the Foot and Ankle for Pain

Risk of diabetes apparently reduced by acupuncture treatment for RA

New resources re acupuncture for heel pain

Podiatric Acupuncture Workshops in NZ

Acupuncture no but dry needling ,perhaps .

Acupuncture & Dry Needling for the Foot and Ankle - GREECE

Share This Page

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