Abstract
Webinar on a COVID-19 Rapid De-Stress Protocol
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture presented a webinar entitled “COVID-19 Rapid De-Stress Protocol” in July. The 1-hour webcast was presented by Mitch Elkiss, DO, FAAMA, of East Lansing, MI; David Groopman, MD, FAAMA, of Richmond, VA; Nick Kouchis, MD, DABMA, of Woodbridge, IL; and Ali Safayan, MD, of Washington, DC. They discussed the neurophysiology of extraordinary stress and the unique features of frontline pandemic stress in health care workers. These participants also outlined a specific medical acupuncture therapy for stress mitigation. The therapy combined calming and centering with an auricular trauma protocol. Webinars are recorded and available at the academy's website. CME credits are available. www.medicalacupuncture.org/COVID-19-Rapid-De-Stress-Protocol
Special Issue on Internal Medicine and COVID-19
Call for Papers: Medical Acupuncture is planning a special issue, focusing on how acupuncture and auricular medicine can be used as effective adjuncts to treat a variety of internal medicine–related conditions. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal also seeks articles highlighting the use of acupuncture and/or Traditional Chinese Medicine in caring for patients affected with COVID-19. Deadline for manuscript submission is August 31, 2020. https://home.liebertpub.com/cfp/special-issue-on-acupuncture-and-internal-medicine/217/
Deepak Chopra: Complementary Medicine for COVID-19
William Bushell, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP, of the University of California, San Diego, and co-authors from Harvard University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health describe how anti-inflammatory and other beneficial effects of meditation and yoga practices make them potential adjunctive treatments for COVID-19, in an article published in JACM: The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. “There is an urgent need to identify strategies to help prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease,” the authors wrote and added: “Included among the intensive search for novel and effective therapeutic approaches are considerations of those therapies derived from integrative and complementary medicine, including from traditional whole medicine systems such as Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine.” www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2020.0177?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Click%20here&utm_campaign=ACM%20PR%20July%2013%202020
Acupuncturists without Borders Responds to COVID-19
The organization Acupuncturists Without Borders is offering free nonneedling ear-seed kits to essential workers and people in vulnerable communities to reduce stress and pain. The organization has created a short instructional video on how to apply ear seeds to oneself or to another person. Volunteers who have received training from Acupuncturists Without Borders are offering treatments to people in Minneapolis, Seattle, and other cities. https://acuwithoutborders.org
Group Acupuncture Relieves Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Diverse safety-net participants with painful diabetic neuropathy found group acupuncture to be helpful for treating their pain. This approach reduced these patients' stress and improved their quality of life, according to a study in Health Equity. Rhianon Liu, MD, and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted a randomized clinical trial, involving 40 primarily low-income people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds from a public hospital. Patients randomized to an intervention group received 12 weeks of group acupuncture. In this article, the researchers described the qualitative data gained from interviews with a subset of 17 participants. In addition to relief of pain and stress, the patients in the acupuncture group said that the intervention gave them hope. www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2020.0004
Call for Papers for AAMA's 2021 Annual Symposium
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture has issued a call for proposals for its 2021 Annual Symposium, entitled “Empower and Unite Physicians Practicing Medical Acupuncture by Presenting Best Practices and Best Evidence.” The symposium will be held in Cincinnati from April 29 to May 2, 2021. The event will offer several presentation formats, including plenary presentations, a day-long presymposium workshop, and concurrent workshops. Proposed presentations should address a practice gap and educational need. Nancy Lorenzini, MD, DABM, will serve as program chair. The 2020 symposium was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. www.medicalacupuncture.org/Portals/2/PDFs/2021%20AAMA%20Call%20for%20Proposals.pdf?timestamp=1579553250823
Complementary Approaches to Low-Back Pain Relief
Patients using complementary health approaches, including acupuncture, reported less low-back pain intensity and less back-related disability, according to a study in JACM: The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. John C. Licciardone, DO, MS, MBA, and Vishruti Pandya, MBBS, MHA, both at the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, in Fort Worth, conducted the study. It was an observational cross-sectional study to measure the use of complementary health approaches recommended in recent clinical practice guidelines relating to low-back pain, factors associated with use of these approaches, and their clinical outcomes. The researchers enrolled 568 people with low-back pain, and 16.9% of these patients used acupuncture. More commonly used approaches were massage therapy, spinal manipulation, and yoga. www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2019.0448?
Study to Assess Acupuncture for Breast Cancer Fatigue
Terje Alraek, PhD, at Kristiania University College, in Oslo, Norway, will be the principal investigator for a large randomized clinical trial to investigate acupuncture as a treatment option for cancer-related fatigue, which is a late effect in breast-cancer survivors. It is a common side-effect of cancer therapy and influences the quality of life of these patients and their families. Some of the secondary outcome measures to be studied will include anxiety and depression. The study participants will be randomized to receive 12 acupuncture treatments for 8–12 weeks plus usual care or just usual care, such as lifestyle advice. The researchers plan to enroll 250 participants and complete the study by May 1, 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04418115?recrs=abdf&cond=acupuncture&draw=3&rank=161
AAMA Fall Workshop on Musculoskeletal Conditions
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture will hold a 2-day workshop entitled “Treating Common Musculoskeletal Conditions with Osteopathic Manipulation, Meridian Therapy, Dry Needling and Manual Muscle Testing,” on October 24–25, 2020, in Chicago. Jay Sandweiss, DO, FAAMA, in Ann Arbor, MI, and Joseph Audette, MD, MA, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston and chief of pain management at Atrius Health and Harvard Vanguard, will present the workshop, offering a highly effective approach for diagnosing and treating common musculoskeletal problems. www.medicalacupuncture.org/For-Physicians/Education/AAMA-Workshops
Acupuncture Safe and Effective for Treating Indigestion
A 4-week course of acupuncture increased self-reported relief and reduction of symptoms for patients with postprandial distress syndrome. Jing-Wen Yang, MD, PhD, at the School of Acupuncture–Moxibustion and Tuina, at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in China was the first author of the article about a study on this in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The researchers randomized 278 participants to receive 12 sessions—3 times per week for 4 weeks—of verum acupuncture or sham acupuncture. The researchers reported that a significantly higher proportion of patients in the verum acupuncture group experienced overall reduction or elimination of their symptoms than those in the sham acupuncture group. That improvement lasted for at least 12 weeks after the final acupuncture treatment. No serious adverse events were reported. www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M19-2880
Australian Organization Launches “we are” Campaign
The Australian Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Association launched its “We Are” campaign to remind people in Australia of the importance of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The campaign features six reasons why people should feel comfortable receiving care from an acupuncturist or TCM provider. The campaign lets people know that practitioners are available, are government-regulated, are bound by strict infection-control guidelines, and are highly trained. It also identifies Chinese Medicine as an allied health profession. https://getthewordout.com.au/press-release/press-release-aacma-launches-we-are-campaign-today/
Acupuncture Effective for Treating Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain
Both electroacupuncture (EA) and auricular acupuncture were effective for relieving cancer survivors' chronic musculoskeletal pain, according to a presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2020 Virtual Scientific Program. Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, presented the findings of a randomized controlled trial involving 360 cancer survivors who had moderate-to-severe musculoskeletal pain for at least 3 months. Patients randomized to both acupuncture groups received 10 weekly treatments, and patients in a control group received usual care from their providers. Both EA and auricular acupuncture decreased pain severity and improved functional health, compared to usual care. https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/186128/abstract
Acupuncture as Anesthesia
Two patients at the Shanghai Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in China received acupuncture anesthesia during their lung-cancer surgeries. Enhanced recovery from surgery is a new development used to speed patients' postoperative recovery, according to Zhou Jia, president of the Yueyang Hospital, who has been researching acupuncture anesthesia for more than a decade. www.shine.cn/news/metro/2006260964/
Study Targets Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia
Researchers at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Italy are conducting a parallel-assignment study, involving 44 adults with fibromyalgia, to receive 6 weekly sessions of acupuncture or standard therapy, which might include tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsant drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and opioids. Pain scores will be measured 28 days after the completion of the treatments. The researchers expect to complete the study in May 2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04421521?recrs=abdf&cond=acupuncture&draw=2&rank=16
New Institute to Promote Chinese Medicine
Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, both in Shanghai, China, have created a new research institute, the Institute of Chinese Medicine Culture and Creativity, which will promote Chinese Medicine (CM), including acupuncture. At the opening ceremony, guests will learn about the history of CM, including seeing a bronze acupuncture model developed in 1744 and a bronze figure of a woman with 580 acupoints. https://english.eastday.com/Shanghai/auto/u1ai8679503.html