Acupuncture for pain relief is a very effective treatment when used exclusively and works well with other therapies.
Does Research Support Acupuncture For Pain Relief? YES!
Here are 4 research studies that investigated acupuncture’s ability to relieve pain .
1. In October, 2024, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) published results from a randomized clinical trial which found that patients suffering from chronic sciatica due to herniated discs benefited from acupuncture.
Patients who were treated with acupuncture had less pain and regained better functioning than those who received sham acupuncture. These positive outcomes lasted for a year!
2. In 2017, the world’s largest randomized controlled trial of acupuncture in emergency departments was done in Australia. This research found that acupuncture is as safe and effective as pain medicine for numerous conditions such as low back pain, migraines and sprained ankles. The acupuncture provided long-term relief for patients who came to emergency rooms in considerable pain.
3. According to research published by the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in 2018 acupuncture can be more effective than NSAIDs for menstrual cramps (primary dysmenorrhoea). And, acupuncture has fewer side effects than traditional medications.
4. In 2012, JAMA ( Journal of the American Medical Association) reported on a huge meta-analysis of acupuncture studies. This review was led by Andrew Vickers. Ph.D., a researcher at the famous Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
The researchers looked at data from 29 different randomized, controlled trials of acupuncture for chronic pain (a total of 17,922 patients), analyzed the results, and concluded that acupuncture was better at relieving pain than no treatment. They also checked whether people who thought they had acupuncture (but did not; they had a sham procedure) improved as significantly as acupuncture patients, but they did not.
How Does It Work? How Does Acupuncture Provide Relief?
Acupuncture increases endorphins, the body’s own pain-killing chemicals which are 200 times more potent than morphine. Acupuncture has also been shown to stimulate the production of adenosine, another natural painkiller the body manufactures when you are injured. When acupuncture stimulates production of these natural pain killers, your body goes to work healing itself.
In short, Acupuncture Works! If you are in pain, don’t wait. Try acupuncture now.
