Tag: acupuncture

Categories : CancerTags :

How Well Do Acupuncture and Acupressure Help Cancer Patients to Sleep?

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Acupuncture and acupressure (which stimulates pressure points without the invasive needles) have been suggested as ways to help reduce sleep disturbance in patients with cancer. A recent analysis published in Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing finds moderate evidence that acupressure and acupuncture may be effective, with acupressure having a greater effect.

Researchers included 24 randomised controlled trials involving 2002 patients in the analysis. Compared with enhanced supportive care, acupressure had the largest effect size for reducing self-reported sleep disturbance (standardised mean difference [SMD] = −2.67, 95% CrI: −3.46 to −1.90; GRADE = moderate), followed by acupuncture (SMD = −1.87, 95% CrI: −2.94 to −0.81, GRADE = moderate) and electroacupuncture (SMD = −1.60, 95% CrI: −3 to −0.21; GRADE = low).

Based on these findings, the researchers conclude that acupressure can be recommended as the optimal treatment for reducing sleep disturbance in cancer patients. They also suggest further trials to investigate the effects of different acupuncture or acupressure techniques have on sleep in cancer patients, especially alongside other therapies.

“Based on available evidence, acupressure may be a more promising approach than acupuncture for reducing sleep disturbance in patients with cancer,” said corresponding author Denise Shuk Ting Cheung, BNurs, PhD, RN, of the University of Hong Kong. “Future studies should focus on the differential mechanisms of action of acupressure and acupuncture and link them to the multifactorial causes of sleep disturbance in patients with cancer.”

Source: Wiley

Categories : Pain ManagementTags :

Clinical Trial Finds Dry Cupping Relieves Chronic Back Pain

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In the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, researchers report that combining ear acupuncture with dry cupping to treat chronic back pain, and showed that it can provide effective relief over acupuncture alone.

Dating back to ancient times, cupping therapy is a technique that uses cups placed over the skin to create negative pressure through suction. In 400 BC, Herodotus listed wet and dry cupping as a treatment for many ailments, including maldigestion, lack of appetite, and headaches. Ear acupuncture, also known as ‘battlefield acupuncture’ has also been modernised by the US military as a simple treatment method in challenging environments.

The open-label, randomised, parallel-group controlled clinical trial recruited 198 adults with chronic back pain. The people were randomised to receive only ear acupuncture as the control group or receive ear acupuncture along with dry cupping as the experimental group.

Interventions were performed in five sessions, once a week, lasting five weeks. Evaluations were performed before the first session, after the last session, and seven days after the second evaluation, using the Brief Pain Inventory to assess the impact of pain on daily activities and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess the quality of life.

Between the initial and final sessions, there were significant changes in daily activities , activity, work, mood, relationships, sleep, and in the physical, psychological and social relationships domains for both the control and experimental groups. Improved perception of quality of life and satisfaction with health were observed for the participants in the experimental group.

Source: Keck School of Medicine USC

Categories : Pain ManagementTags :

Acupuncture Puts a Pin in Chronic Pelvic Pain

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A multicentre randomised trial showed that eight weeks of acupuncture sessions improved symptoms of moderate to severe chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) to a greater extent than sham therapy. Treatment effects endured over 24 weeks follow up. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

CP/CPPS manifests as discomfort or pain in the pelvic region for at least three of the previous six months with no infection, with possible involvement of lower urinary tract symptoms, psychological issues, and sexual dysfunction. Men with CP/CPPS may have a poor quality of life associated with the disorder, such as inflammation in the prostate, anxiety and stress, and dyssynergic voiding. Standard care involves antibiotics, a-blockers, and anti-inflammatories, but their effectiveness is limited and long-term use is associated with adverse events. Though promising as an alternative treatment, acupuncture lacks high quality evidence.

A total of 440 male participants were randomised to either 8 weeks of acupuncture or sham therapy to assess the long-term efficacy of acupuncture for improving symptoms of CP/CPPS. The treatment was considered effective if participants achieved a clinically important reduction of at least 6 points from baseline on the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index at weeks 8 and 32. Between-group difference to be statistically significant at both time points for sustained efficacy. 

More participants in the acupuncture group reported marked or moderate improvements in symptoms at all assessment points compared to the sham control group. No significant difference was found in changes in International Index of Erectile Function 5 score at all assessment time points or in peak and average urinary flow rates at week 8. No serious adverse events were reported in either group.

According to the researchers, these findings show long-term efficacy of acupuncture and provide high-quality evidence for clinical practice and guideline recommendations.

Source: Medical Xpress