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Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Chinese Herbs
16/486 Waterworks Rd
Ashgrove, Q 4060
Australia
Phone: (07) 3366 5899
Fax: (07) 3366 5891
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Benefits of Acupuncture Acupuncture is an effective, natural and increasingly popular form of health care that is now being used by people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds (Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association (AACMA)) The benefits of acupuncture:
Acupuncture is known to treat a wide range of disorders including: Neurological conditions: headache, migraine, difficulty sleeping, nervous tension, stroke, facial and inter-costal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, dizziness, Meniere's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome Cardiovascular disorders: high or low blood pressure, fluid retention, chest pain, angina, palpitations, poor circulation, cold hands and feet, muscle cramps Respiratory disorders: bronchial asthma, acute and chronic bronchitis, acute and chronic tonsillitis, rhinitis/hay fever, sinusitis, chronic cough, laryngitis, sore throat, influenza and common cold Digestive disorders: mouth ulcers, gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastric hyperacidity, gastritis, heartburn, diarrhoea, constipation, irritable bowel, flatulence, weight control Urogenital disorders: cystitis, prostatitis, low libido, bedwetting Gynaecological disorders: menstrual irregularities such as painful periods, heavy periods, PMS, no periods, irregular periods, hormonal imbalances, abnormal discharges, menopausal problems, prolapsed uterus or bladder, difficulty conceiving Obstetric disorders: morning sickness, breech presentation, labour preparation, post-partum disorders Skin conditions: eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, nerve rash, herpes zoster, scar tissue and adhesions Eye conditions: red itchy or watery eyes, conjunctivitis Musculoskeletal disorders: osteoarthritis, sciatica, low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, shoulder and neck pain, whiplash, Sports injuries: sprained ankles, knee damage, cartilage problems, muscle strains, torn ligaments, bruises Psychological conditions: mild depression anxiety and emotional disturbances, nervousness and addictions such as smoking The efficacy of acupuncture across a wide range of conditions has been assessed in numerous studies and clinical trials that have been presented at conferences and published in both Complimentary Therapy and Western Medical Journals. Below is a sample of current research that studied osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and acupuncture. Berman and colleagues (2004) conducted a large clinical study of acupuncture and OA of the knee. The trial studied 570 patients with an average age of 65 who had OA of the knee. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive one of three treatments for 26 weeks, in addition to standard care such as anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers: (i) 190 received acupuncture, (ii) 191 underwent sham acupuncture and (iii) 189 participants attended six, 2-hour group sessions over 12 weeks based on the Arthritis Foundation's Arthritis Self-Help Course. Patients' progress was assessed at 4, 8, 14, and 26 weeks. At week 8, patients receiving acupuncture began showing a significant increase in function and by week 14 a significant decrease in pain, compared with the sham and control groups. Overall those who received acupuncture had a 40 % decrease in pain and a nearly 40 % improvement in function compared to baseline assessments. The authors concluded that acupuncture seems to provide improvement in function and pain relief as an adjunctive therapy for OA of the knee when compared with credible sham acupuncture and education control groups. The above findings by Berman et al are consistent with other 2004 research and the observations of Vas et al; Tukmachi et al; and, Stener-Victorin et al. Vas and team conducted a randomised, controlled, single blind trial on the use of acupuncture as a complementary therapy to the pharmacological treatment of OA of the knee (n = 97). Theses researchers concluded that acupuncture plus diclofenac is more effective than placebo acupuncture plus diclofenac for the symptomatic treatment of OA of the knee. Tukmachi and associates reported in their randomized controlled trial (n = 30) that manual and electroacupuncture causes a significant improvement in the symptoms of OA of the knee, either on its own or as an adjunctive therapy, with no loss of benefit after one month. In a randomized controlled study Stener-Victorin et al evaluated the therapeutic effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) and hydrotherapy, both in combination with patient education or with patient education alone, in the treatment of OA in the hip (n = 45). The investigators found that EA and hydrotherapy both in combination with patient education induce long-lasting effects, shown by reduced pain and ache and by increased functional activity and quality of life, as demonstrated by differences in the pre- and post-treatment assessments. This finding is in agreement with two earlier findings by Haslam R in 2001 who reported that acupuncture is more effective than advice and exercises in the symptomatic treatment of OA of the hip (n = 32), and Fink and colleagues who found that placement of an acupuncture needle in the area of the affected hip is associated with an improvement in the symptoms of OA (n = 67). References Berman BM, Lao L, Langenberg P, et al. ‘Effectiveness of acupuncture as adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee: A randomized, controlled trial', Ann Intern Med. 2004; 141(12):901-10. Fink MG, Wipperman B, Gehrke A. ‘Non-specific effects of traditional Chinese acupuncture in osteoarthritis of the hip', Complement Ther Med. 2001; 9(2):82-9. Haslam R. ‘A comparison of acupuncture with advice and exercises on the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip--a randomised controlled trial', Acupunct Med. 2001; 19(1):19-26. Stener-Victorin E, Kruse-Smidje C, Jung K. ‘Comparison between electro-acupuncture and hydrotherapy, both in combination with patient education and patient education alone, on the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip', Clin J Pain. 2004; 20(3):179-85. Tukmachi E, Jubb R, Dempsey E, Jones P. ‘The effect of acupuncture on the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis - an open randomised controlled study', Acupunct Med. 2004; 22(1):14-22. Vas J, Mendez C, Perea-Milla E, et al. ‘Acupuncture as a complementary therapy to the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: Randomised controlled trial', BMJ, 2004; 329(7476):1216.
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