Acupuncture Vs. Pain

The ancient practice is standing up well to modern research. Would it help you?

By Susan Ince (Good Housekeeping January 2012)

True believers will unhesitatingly tell you: There's hardly a health problem — from headaches to toe pain — that can't be helped by acupuncture. But until recently, it's been hard to determine one way or the other if having needles stuck in strategic points on the skin has truly been responsible for the relief patients claim. Now new research is providing answers. German studies have shown that something is definitely going on, neurologically speaking, when acupuncture needles are in place: In a series of imaging experiments involving short electric zaps to the ankle, researchers found that when acupuncture needles were inserted before the zap, the pain centers in volunteers' brains were significantly calmer.

Of course, in real life people are more likely to consider acupuncture after suffering troubling symptoms — "usually when they haven't gotten relief from traditional medical treatment," says Karen Sherman, Ph.D., senior scientific investigator at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. Here, too, recent research from Germany has been positive, showing that adding acupuncture to standard medical treatment helps people with a wide variety of ailments. In these studies, involving thousands of patients, everybody got first-rate regular care — whatever their doctors recommended. Then some patients were randomly chosen to also receive up to 15 sessions of acupuncture. After three months and an average of 10 acupuncture treatments, patients were evaluated to see whether their symptoms and ability to function were substantially improved. The chart below shows how well acupuncture worked for common health woes.

To Try It Yourself

Look for a state-licensed acupuncturist experienced in treating your condition. One good source is the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (nccaom.org); most states use that organization's testing program for licensing. Before signing on, ask how many appointments it'll likely take until you know if the acupuncture will help. You probably won't be able to tell after one visit, but you don't want to "wait 20 sessions," says Karen Sherman, without some relief.

The Acupuncture Advantage

For these ailments, adding acupuncture to a regimen of regular care boosted the relief patients felt, with most benefits lasting at least three months after treatment

Menstrual Cramps	Runny Noseallergic)	Migraine Headaches	Arthritis of Knee or Hip	Low Back Pain	Asthma	Neck Pain
Improved with regular care only*	21%	24%	20%	8%	13%	12%	7%
Improved with added acupuncture*	59%	56%	45%	38%	35%	34%	24%

*Improvement defined as being at least 50% better