Alternative and Complementary Medicine Commons^™

Effects Of Acupuncture Versus Non-Acupuncture Treatment On Pain, Stacie Phan

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This study examines the impact of acupuncture treatment in comparison to non-acupuncture treatment on multiple facets of pain. All studies included met inclusion criteria in which patients were to have experienced some sort of pain before treatment. After being informed of the procedure, each study’s participants were assigned to a control group or a treatment group in order to test the true effect on pain. After gathering data from each of the studies, it was necessary to standardize the data for comparison. It was found that the overall effect of acupuncture reduced pain in the participants. However, Hegu acupuncture compared …

Is Acupuncture An Effective Treatment For Acute Migraine?, Meghan C. Knab

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not acupuncture is an effective treatment for acute migraines.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language randomized controlled trials, published between 2003 and 2012.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials published in peer reviewed journals found using PubMed, Medline, and EBSCOhost.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The outcomes measured included complete absence of migraine pain, measured by Visual Analog Scale scores and a headache diary, and progression to a fully formed migraine, measured by the Validated Pain Scale by Heller.

RESULTS: The studies by Li et al and Wang et …

Is Acupuncture Effective In The Prophylaxis Of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections In Adult Women?, Caitlin E. Mumford

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not acupuncture is effective in the prophylaxis of recurrent urinary infections in adult women.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of three English language primary studies, published between 1998 and 2003.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized, controlled trials published after 1996, comparing acupuncture to placebo in the prophylaxis of urinary tract infections were obtained using EBSCOhost and PubMed.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: All three studies measured incidence or absence of urinary tract infections, as defined by distal urinary symptoms and/or bacteriuria of ≥ 105 cfu/ml.

RESULTS: Three …

Perceptions Of Acupuncture And Acupressure By Anesthesia Providers, Amanda Faircloth

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Randomized controlled trials show acupuncture and acupressure support anesthesia management by decreasing anxiety, opioid requirements and treating post-operative nausea and vomiting. Acupuncture and acupressure have demonstrated clinical usefulness and received governmental support (NIH, PPACA, WHO, U.S. Military), but have not yet diffused into mainstream anesthesia practice. This study examined US anesthesia providers' perceptions of acupuncture and acupressure.

METHODS: Ninety-six anesthesiology departments stratified by geographic region (Northeast, South, West, and Midwest) and institution type (university medical centers, community hospitals, children’s hospitals, and VA hospitals) were selected for participation in an anonymous, online survey. The target sample was 1,728 providers …

A Tale Of Two Needles, Chengyi Liu

SURGE

Looking back, I guess the name should have been my first clue. “Alternative” medicine? “Complementary” medicine? What is it about these medical practices, which to me are completely traditional, that places them in a secondary position to other medicinal options in the United States? [excerpt]

Interpretive Bias In Acupuncture Research? A Case Study, Neil E. O'Connell, Benedict M. Wand, Ben Goldacre

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Acupuncture is one of the most widely used and broadly researched of the complementary and alternative therapies, but high quality trials generally show no benefit over sham acupuncture. Many would view this result as evidence of ineffectiveness for this intervention.

This discussion paper focuses on the report of one large multi-centre randomised controlled trial of acupuncture for chronic low back pain in the lay and academic press, the ensuing discussion, and its impact on both clinical practice and service provision.

We suggest that interpretive bias has affected reporting, leading to questionable conclusions and advocacy in favour of this form of …

Complementary Medicine In Chronic Cancer Care, Daniel A. Monti, Jingduan Yang

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

Although advancements in cancer care have led to increased cure rates and survival times, those coping with the long-term sequelae of a cancer diagnosis often report high levels of distress, poor health-related quality of life, and unmet psychosocial needs. The shortcomings of the conventional biomedical system at sufficiently addressing these chronic illness issues are a primary reason that many patients turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Although patients usually use such treatments in addition to conventional care, they often do not discuss doing so with their conventional physicians, who are perceived as being unreceptive to the topic. Physicians may …