Acupuncture has been part of Asian wellness programs for thousands of years, used to treat everything from mild heartburn to life-threatening comas. For Americans, acupuncture became popular in recent years, mostly as a treatment for pain. And testing its effectiveness has been difficult for Western researchers, whose reliance on placebos or "sugar pills" makes it difficult to conduct controlled experiments about acupuncture. But Norwegian scientists who overcame the difficulty concluded that acupuncture provides lasting relief for neck pain. Peer-reviewed studies link acupuncture to pain relief, but its effectiveness has not been thoroughly proved by Western medical standards.
Neck and Shoulder Pain
Twice as many women in the study--more than 70 percent--who received acupuncture treatment for neck pain reported improvement than women who received a sham treatment, according to researchers from the University of Oslo, who published their findings in a 2004 issue of the journal "Pain." In the study, 12 female office workers who suffered chronic neck and shoulder pain received 10 sessions of acupuncture. Twelve others received a sham treatment--needles were placed in areas slightly off-target from those appropriate for the treatment of neck and shoulder pain.
Long-lasting Relief
The positive benefits of acupuncture lasted for several years. Women who received 10 sessions of acupuncture for their neck and shoulder pain were interviewed three years later and asked to describe their current levels of pain. They said their neck and back pain remained half as severe as it had before treatment and that they also experienced fewer headaches. Women who received the sham treatment said their neck pain was worse three years later.
Acupuncture Instead of Pain Medication
The results of a recent United States clinical trial supports the findings of the Norwegian researchers. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, treated half the patients in the study with four weeks of acupuncture and the other half with standard medical treatment, including physical therapy and medicine to reduce pain and inflammation. More people receiving acupuncture treatment reported a decrease in pain than those receiving traditional treatment. Researchers who reported their findings in a 2010 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" said further study was needed, but that their findings supported the use of acupuncture in the treatment of neck pain.
Back Pain
Acupuncture has also proven effective in the treatment of back pain. Acupuncture provided quicker, more effective relief for back pain sufferers than traditional treatment, according to a report in the May 2009 issue of the "Journal of American Medicine." Sixty percent of the study participants who received acupuncture for back pain reported a "clinically meaningful improvement in their level of functioning" after eight weeks of treatment. This compared with 39 percent of people receiving traditional care who reported improvement. After a year of treatment, 50 percent of people receiving traditional care reported improvement in back function, compared to 59 to 65 percent of people treated by acupuncture.
Acupuncture Without Needles
For patients who fear the use of needles in acupuncture, the JAMA study also provided hope. Some patients in the acupuncture group received traditional acupuncture. Others received simulated acupuncture in which needles were applied to points on the skin. Both groups reported higher rates of improvement than people receiving traditional therapy and, after a year, with people receiving simulated treatment reporting the highest levels of success.
References
- "New York Times"; "Acupuncture and Neck Pain"; John O'Neil, July 22, 2004
- "Journal of American Medical Association"; "Real and simulated acupuncture appear more effective than usual care for back pain"; Daniel C. Cherkin et al; May 29, 2009
- "Drug Week"; Clinical Trial Research; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medicine reports research in clinical trial research; June 11, 2010
