A - Z of how acupuncture can help
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises acupuncture in the treatment of the following diseases, conditions or symptoms...
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Acne, Addiction, Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, Allergies and intolerances, Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever), Anxiety, Arthritis
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Back pain, Biliary colic
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Cancer support
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Depression, Dysentery, Acute Bacillary, Dysmenorrhoea
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Emotional disturbances (sadness, melancholy, stress, anger)
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Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders), Fertility (IVF support)
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Headaches and Migraines, Hypertension, Hypotension,
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Leukopenia, Lower back pain
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Malposition of fetus, Menstrual problems, Menopausal symptoms, Migraines, Morning sickness
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Nausea and vomiting, Neck pain
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Pain in dentistry, Pain management, Periarthritis of shoulder, Postoperative pain, Pregnancy
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Renal colic, Rheumatoid arthritis
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Scarring, Sleep disturbances, Sports injuries, Stress
It is no longer possible to say that the effectiveness of acupuncture can be attributed to the placebo effect or that it is useful only for musculoskeletal pain - Stephen Janz, 2017
The Evidence
In January 2017, John McDonald and Stephen Janz published “The Acupuncture Evidence Project”. They reviewed research for all 122 conditions that research has been carried out on in relation to acupuncture.
"Our study found evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for 117 conditions... Acupuncture is considered safe in the hands of a well-trained practitioner and has been found to be cost effective for some conditions. The quality and quantity of research into acupuncture’s effectiveness is increasing." (McDonald & Janz, 2017)
Interestingly, the strongest evidence was found for conditions conventional medicine can struggle to treat: Migraine prevention, Headache, Low back pain, Knee osteoarthritis, Allergic rhinitis, Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, Post-operative nausea and vomiting, Post-operative pain.
"Acupuncture stimulates the body to release its own natural pain killers. It also stimulates the release of molecules associated with tissue healing and disease resolution." - Mel Hopper Koppelmen, 2017