Page 29 - CASA Bulletin of Anesthiology 2021, Vol 8, No. 6 (1)

Vol. 8, No. 6, 2021

Although originated from traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is perhaps one of the
most commonly practiced therapies and is now used in nearly 100 countries. It is also the most
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studied in both preclinical and clinical research of integrative medicine. As an ancient healing
art, acupuncture has been the significant component of medical treatment in China for at least
3000 years. Over the last few decades, acupuncture has gained its popularity in the United States
and is gradually being integrated into our healthcare system. In 1996, FDA classified
acupuncture needles as medical equipment subject to the same standard of regulation for medical
needles, syringes and surgical scalpels. In 1997, National Institutes of Health (NIH) organized a
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Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture, recognized that physicians, dentists, non-
MD acupuncturists, and other practitioners have extensively practiced acupuncture. A major
reason for patients to seek acupuncture treatment is a lower incidence of adverse effects than that
of many drugs and commonly accepted medical procedures.
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Acupuncture for chronic pain

Chronic low back pain and neck pain are the leading cause of medical care and disabilities.
National Health Statistics Reports describes back pain as the most common medical condition
treated with complementary and integrative medicine. Whereas conventional treatments may
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have limited benefit in improving outcomes for some patients, acupuncture has been used as an
additional option for the management of chronic low back and neck pain. One randomized
multicenter study enrolled 1,162 patients with low back pain, acupuncture therapy improved
their pain control for at least six months and significantly better than the conventional therapy.
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In another large-scale clinical trial, 3,093 patients with low back pain were recruited and
randomly assigned into acupuncture or conventional medical care. Back function (Hannover
Functional Ability Questionnaire), pain, and quality of life were improved at three and six
months in the acupuncture group. The acupuncture treatment benefit was show in another
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randomized controlled multi-center trial to compare the effectiveness of acupuncture combined
with routine care (1,880 subjects), with routine care alone (1,886 subjects), in patients with
chronic neck pain. The results showed a significant improvement in neck pain and disability in
the acupuncture plus routine care group. A number of other pain conditions also have been
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treated with acupuncture as listed Table 2.
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Table 2 World Health Organization (WHO), 2002 data

Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the
acupuncture has been shown to be effective therapeutic effect of acupuncture remains to be
determined

Low back pain Radicular and pseudo radicular syndrome

Knee pain Abdominal pain
Headache Cancer pain

Neck pain Fibromyalgia and fasciitis

Dental pain Earache

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