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gests signing up for the number of ses- sions that are recommended by your acupuncturist (it can take time to see results, typically) and boosting the ef- fects of your treatments with mind- body practices such as meditation, yoga and deep breathing, which are also known to soothe pain.


Acupuncture could offer relief from some, but not all, pain conditions.


Stick It to Pain Is acupuncture effective in easing pain?


For some conditions the age-old therapy seems very promising. BY ELIZABETH BARKER


ask any acupuncture advocate about the benefi ts of regular needling ses- sions, and you’ll likely learn of the age- old therapy’s potential to stop all sorts of pain. Said to stimulate the release of the body’s natural pain-killing chem- icals such as endorphins and serotonin, this cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine has become a preferred treat- ment of choice for many people look- ing to manage their chronic pain. In fact, a 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that 3.1 million Americans had used acupuncture in the previous year, and that an earlier NHIS found that pain or musculoskel- etal problems accounted for seven of the top 10 complaints for which people had turned to acupuncture. So far, research on acupuncture’s


pain-easing effects has yielded mixed results, including several bright spots in studies showing that the treatment could bring relief to those struggling with certain pain conditions. “Lots of people with chronic pain—especially musculoskeletal pain—seem to ben- efit from acupuncture,” says Laura


Lewis Mantell, M.D., a New York City– based physician specializing in inte- grative medicine with an emphasis on stress and pain management. “But in some cases that positive effect might have much to do with acupuncture’s ability to reduce stress and anxiety, both of which are often a problem for people living with pain.” Keep in mind, says Margaret Caudill-Slosberg, M.D., MPH, author of Managing Pain Before It Manages You, Third Edition (Guilford Press, 2009), that whether acupunc- ture offers only short-term relief or a lasting reduction in pain varies based on the individual and their pain condi- tion and the pain’s severity. But for lots of people, the possibil-


ity of any amount of relief from their pain makes a treatment worth trying, especially when a therapy is relatively inexpensive and very unlikely to have serious side effects, as is the case with acupuncture. Before you book an ap- pointment, though, take a look at the following chronic-pain conditions, the ones most apt to respond to needles. If research is on your side, Mantell sug-


BACK PAIN. Acupuncture is a worthy treatment option for people whose chronic back pain doesn’t get better with self-care, according to clinical practice guidelines released by the American Pain Society in 2007. Indeed, a review of 33 clinical trials two years earlier found that acupuncture can al- leviate chronic (but not acute) low back pain and more research demonstrates that just 10 sessions of acupuncture can lead to signifi cant improvements in functioning (such as the ability to climb stairs or do housework).


OSTEOARTHRITIS. A number of study reviews shows that acupuncture can help ease pain and restore function in people with osteoarthritis, a condi- tion marked by the breakdown of joint cartilage. The majority of research done indicates that acupuncture might be especially helpful for people with os- teoarthritis (OA) of the knee: For in- stance, a study of people with knee OA published in 2004 found that after 14 weeks of acupuncture treatment, pain scores had dropped 40 percent and function had improved nearly 40 per- cent from the start of the study. “Acu- puncture won’t get rid of arthritis, but it can help manage pain to the point where it’s easier to stay physically ac- tive, which is important for keeping the condition from worsening,” notes Los Angeles–based acupuncturist Me- lissa Monroe, Ph.D., L.Ac.


MIGRAINE. Acupuncture appears to be slightly more effective than medica- tion when it comes to warding off mi- graine headaches, according to a 2009 research review that included four tri- als comparing prophylactic migraine drugs to (continued on page 62)


PAIN RESOURCE FALL 2012 23


©JON FEINGERSH/BLEND IMAGES/JUPITERIMAGES


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