Abstract
Do Patients Like Group Acupuncture?
Group acupuncture provides a different experience for patients than individual acupuncture does, according to a study in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Elizabeth Chuang, MD, MPH—at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY—and colleagues conducted a clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of acupuncture for addressing chronic pain. Patients in both cohorts—receiving individualized or group acupuncture—experienced pain relief, a better quality of life, and relaxation during their treatments. Some patients in the group sessions expressed concern about privacy and mixed-gender groups, but the concerns decreased after the sessions started. www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2017.0262
Study to Investigate Acupuncture, Parkinson's Disease, and Sleep
Yuqi Zhang—at Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital in China—is the study chair of an interventional clinical trial to determine vascular and functional neurologic changes induced by acupuncture in patients with Parkinson's disease and sleep disorders. Participants will be randomly assigned to verum acupuncture or sham acupuncture. During the study, researchers will observe changes in cerebral blood vessels and neuroimaging before and after acupuncture in the 2 groups. The researchers plan to enroll 100 people and complete the study in 2020. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03501004?term=acupuncture&recrs=abdf&draw=2&rank=40
Veterans Administration Recognizes Acupuncturists
The Department of Veterans Affairs, in its new employee handbook, offers opportunities for acupuncturists. It categorizes acupuncture as a profession, instead of a modality as in previous years. Acupuncturists working for the Veterans Administration (VA) will be able to make from $61,486 to $79,936, depending on their classifications. Any acupuncturist working for the VA must be certified through the National Certification for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. www.va.gov/PATIENTCENTEREDCARE/features/Advancing_Complementary_and_Integrative_Health_in.asp
Mayo Clinic Offers Acupuncture and Massage to Patients
Patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, can now enhance their treatments with acupuncture and massage. Brent Bauer, MD—director of research for Mayo Clinic's Integrative Medicine Program—reported that studies of acupuncture and massage have demonstrated the benefits of both modalities. In addition, acupuncture can help manage chronic pain. “Bringing acupuncture and massage into the clinical setting can have benefits that extend beyond therapeutic wellness,” Dr. Bauer said. “Acupuncturists and massage therapists can bring another level of healing and a second set of eyes to a patient's overall treatment plan.” www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(17)30028-9/fulltext
App-Based Acupressure Relieves Menstrual Pain
An app that supported self-acupressure helped women reduce menstrual pain and medication use more than usual care, according to a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Susanne Blödt, PhD—at Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany—and colleagues conducted a randomized trial involving 221 women with dysmenorrhea. For 6 menstrual cycles, 111 of the women performed self-acupressure, while the rest of the women followed usual care. Pain intensity at the third cycle was significantly less in the acupressure group, and it reached clinical relevance at the sixth cycle. The results improved over time. Women said they would recommend the app to others, and 67.6% said they continued to use acupressure for pain after the trial ended. www-sciencedirect-com.web.bisu.edu.cn/science/article/pii/S0002937817323359
Acupuncture Could Reduce Dental Patients' Anxiety
An international team of researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to learn if acupuncture was helpful for reducing dental patients' anxiety. Fraser Kirkwood Allan, MSc—at the University of York, United Kingdom—and colleagues included six trials involving 800 patients in the review. When comparing the no-intervention group with acupuncture, the researchers reported in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine that acupuncture produced a clinically relevant decrease in anxiety. However, when verum acupuncture was compared with placebo or sham acupuncture, the researchers did not find a reduction in the patients' anxiety levels. www-sciencedirect-com.web.bisu.edu.cn/science/article/pii/S1876382018300544
Acupuncture Symposium Recordings Available for 2018 and 2017
Recordings of educational sessions at the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA) 2018 Symposium, this past April, are available from the AAMA Recordings store in three formats: (1) Synched PowerPoint recordings; (2) Audio MP3; and or (3) video MP4. The recordings are a great way to refresh your memory about a topic or learn about it for the first time if you were unable to attend the session. The 2017 Symposium recordings are also still available. www.medicalacupuncture.org/For-Physicians/Symposium/Symposium-Recordings-Archive
Acupuncture for Managing Menopause Symptoms
An umbrella systematic review conducted by North Carolina researchers showed that acupuncture—either alone or in addition to other treatment—was successful for reducing vasomotor symptoms suffered by menopausal women, according to a study reported in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Deanna Befus, PhD, RN—at the Center for Integrative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC—and colleagues analyzed 3 systematic reviews and 4 randomized controlled trials to assess acupuncture's effectiveness for addressing vasomotor symptoms' frequency and severity. In addition to relieving symptoms, the acupuncture treatments improved health-related quality of life outcomes. The researchers cautioned that the observed clinical benefit “may be due in part or whole to nonspecific effects.” www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2016.0408
Florida Physical Therapists Want Dry Needling
The Florida Board of Physical Therapy approved allowing certain physical therapists (PTs) to perform dry needling. The board's action is not final and is wending its way through the administrative process. The board plans to require PTs who want to perform dry needling to demonstrate certain competencies. PTs cannot use this technique until final approval is announced. The Florida State Oriental Medical Association has opposed the rule. www.fpta.org/page/18214dryneedling
Documentary On Acupuncture for Patients Who Have Cancer
The Acupuncture Now Foundation and the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine have produced a documentary, Getting to the Point, exploring the role acupuncture plays in treatments for patients who have cancer. The film explores the life of 2 young patients with brain cancer, who were treated at the Children's Hospital of Orange County, CA. Doug Dearth coproduced and directed the film and chronicles the 2 boys' experiences with acupuncture to ease fatigue, pain, and nausea. The 30-minute film can be viewed for free on the foundation's website. https://acunow.org/getting-to-the-point/