For what conditions has acupuncture treatment been
found helpful?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus
Development Program was established in 1977 and is designed
to assess health technology. The program organizes major
conferences that produce consensus statements and
technology assessment statements on controversial issues in
medicine important to health care providers, patients, and
the general public. The following statement is from the NIH
Consensus Development Statement on Acupuncture on November
3-5, 1997.
Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely
practiced in the United States. There have been many
studies of its potential usefulness. However, many of these
studies provide equivocal results because of design, sample
size, and other factors. The issue is further complicated
by inherent difficulties in the use of appropriate
controls, such as placebo and sham acupuncture groups.
However, promising results have emerged, for example,
efficacy of acupuncture in adult post-operative and
chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in post-operative
dental pain. There are other situations such as
addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual
cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain,
osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and
asthma where acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct
treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a
comprehensive management program.
Findings from basic research have begun to elucidate the
mechanisms of action of acupuncture, including the release
of opioids and other peptides in the central nervous system
and the periphery and changes in neuroendocrine function.
Although much needs to be accomplished, the emergence of
plausible mechanisms for the therapeutic effects of
acupuncture is encouraging.
The introduction of acupuncture into the choice of
treatment modalities that are readily available to the
public is in its early stages. Issues of training,
licensure, and reimbursement remain to be clarified. There
is sufficient evidence, however, of acupuncture's value to
expand its use into conventional medicine and to encourage
further studies of its physiology and clinical value.
This statement is representative of the opinions of current
standard medical practice.
Fibromyalgia, formerly
known as fibrositis, causes chronic pain, stiffness, and
tenderness of muscles, tendons, and joints without detectable inflammation. Fibromyalgia patients have an unusually low pain threshold. Symptoms of fibromyalgia include fatigue, abnormal sleep, mental/emotional disturbances, abdominal pain, migraine and tension headaches, and irritable bladder. Treatment of fibromyalgia involves patient education, medication, exercise, and stress reduction.
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is cancer of the lymphatic system, a vital part of the body's immune system. Symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, coughing, weakness, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, and abdominal pain. Treatment depends on which type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma you have, the stage of the cancer, your age, how fast the cancer is growing, and whether you have other health problems.
Cervical cancer is cancer of the entrance to the womb (uterus). Regular pelvic exams and Pap testing can detect precancerous changes in the cervix. Precancerous changes in the cervix may be treated with cryosurgery, cauterization, or laser surgery. The most common symptom of cancer of the cervix is abnormal bleeding.
Neck pain (cervical pain) may be caused by any number of disorders and diseases. Tenderness is another symptom of neck pain. Though treatment for neck pain really depends upon the cause, treatment typically may involve heat/ice application, traction, physical therapy, cortisone injection, topical anesthetic creams, and muscle relaxants.
Restless leg syndrome (RLS or restless legs syndrome) is a common cause for painful legs that typically eases with motion, and becomes worse and more noticeable at rest. This characteristic nighttime worsening can frequently lead to insomnia. Treatment of the symptoms of restless leg syndrome is generally with medication as well as treating any underlying condition causing restless leg syndrome.
Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that tends to occur as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter. Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder include tiredness, fatigue, depression, irritability, body aches, poor sleep and overeating.
Chronic pain is pain (an unpleasant sense of discomfort) that persists or progresses over a long period of time. In contrast to acute pain that arises suddenly in response to a specific injury and is usually treatable, chronic pain persists over time and is often resistant to medical treatments.
People who have bladder spasms, the sensation occurs suddenly and often severely. A spasm itself is the sudden, involuntary squeezing of a muscle. A bladder spasm, or "detrusor contraction," occurs when the bladder muscle squeezes suddenly without warning, causing an urgent need to release urine. The spasm can force urine from the bladder, causing leakage. When this happens, the condition is called urge incontinence or overactive bladder.
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