Acupuncture Links

General information about acupuncture: www.acupuncture.com

My alma mater as well as good information about acupuncture and schooling. www.pacificcollege.edu

The National Board of Acupuncturists. Information about certification and candidates. www.nccaom.org

CORE/El Centro where I do volunteer work here in Milwaukee. www.core-elcentro.org

Acupuncturists without Borders, the organization I went to New Orleans with to help hurricane victims. www.acuwithoutborders.org

Crane Herbs, the company I work with to order herbal medicine for my patients. www.craneherb.com

Studies:

  1. Chronic Low Back Pain (Witt, 2006): Largest study to date demonstrates acupunctures effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in the treatment of chronic low back pain based on functionality, pain and quality of life assessed directly after, 3 months after, and 6 months after treatment. 11,630 patients. 
  2. Osteoarthritis of Knee (Berman, 2004): ""Overall, those who received acupuncture had a 40 percent decrease in pain and a nearly 40 percent improvement in function compared to baseline assessments. This trial, which builds upon our previous NCCAM-funded research, establishes that acupuncture is an effective complement to conventional arthritis treatment and can be successfully employed as part of a multidisciplinary approach to treating the symptoms of osteoarthritis." 570 subjects.
  3. Labor pain (Skilnand E, 2002 & Ramnero, 2002): "The results indicate that acupuncture reduces the experience of pain in labor. A secondary outcome of acupuncture was a shorter delivery time, which mainly, if not exclusively, can be explained by the reduced need for epidural analgesia." 210 subjects.
  4. Breech birth (Cardini, 1998): "Cardini and Weixin found that moxibustion (stimulation of an acupuncture point by heat generated from burning a specific herb) is helpful for correction of breech presentation in late pregnancy. 260 subjects.
  5. Dysmenorrhea, Primary (Pouresmail, 2002): "the therapeutic efficacies of acupressure and Ibuprofen were similar with no significant difference, and were significantly better than the placebo. Thus acupressure, with no complications, is recommended as an alternative and also a better choice in the decrease of the severity of PD." 216 subjects.
  6. A randomized controlled pilot study of acupuncture for postmenopausal hot flashes: effect on nocturnal hot flashes and sleep quality. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16952511?dopt=AbstractPlus
  7. In Vitro Fertilization (Dieterle, 2006): "The clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate (33.6% and 28.4%, respectively) were significantly higher than in group II (15.6% and 13.8%). Luteal-phase acupuncture has a positive effect on the outcome of IVF/ICSI." 225 patients
  8. Nausea and Vomiting after Abdominal Hysterectomy (Kim, 2002): 1 group each for 2 points, and one placebo group. "Capsicum plaster at either the Korean hand acupuncture point K-D2 or the Pericardium 6 acupoint reduces postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy." 160 subjects.
  9. Smoking Cessation (Bier, 2002): Quasi-factorial design, sham-controlled. "Acupuncture and education, alone and in combination, significantly reduce smoking; however, combined they show a significantly greater effect, as seen in subjects with a greater pack-year history." 141 subjects.