In The News: Study Proves Acupuncture Heals Chronic Pain

Is acupuncture effective at healing chronic pain or is it just all in your head? A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine provides proof that acupuncture is effective in healing chronic pain and that it’s not all just a placebo effect. There were 29 randomly controlled trials with 17,922 patients analyzed.

The study concluded that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo.

“The new study bolsters the evidence for acupuncture but doesn’t quite put to rest the idea that patients are largely responding to the placebo effect, says Dr. Andrew L. Avins, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco and a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente, a large nonprofit health plan based in Oakland, California”.

“Although genuine acupuncture clearly benefited the study participants, Avins says, the fact that the effectiveness rate was much higher than treatment as usual but only slightly higher than the sham treatment suggests that most of the benefit associated with acupuncture is indeed attributable to the placebo effect”.  [CNN, 2012]

So what if the placebo effect still plays a major role in Acupuncture healing chronic pain? If it makes pain diminish, doesn’t require drugs or major surgery then everyone’s a winner, right?

I have to admit that I’m biased here. Here at Palm Partners we have a phenomenal Acupuncturist who does amazing work and provides our clients with an outer body experience; metaphorically speaking of course! Many addicts come into treatment centers physically broken down and in a lot of pain. They’ve been smoking, snorting, shooting, eating up the drug of their choice and holistic drug treatment methods like acupuncture help them rejuvenate and reenergize themselves.

Have you even had acupuncture done on your body? How was it? Are you a believer?

Share your thoughts with us.

If you or a loved one is in need of drug or alcohol treatment please give us a call at 800-951-6135.

Source:

 http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/health/health-acupuncture/index.html?hpt=hp_bn12

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1357513#METHODS