Acupuncture for COPD

Breathe Easier with Acupuncture

Changzhen Gong, Ph.D.

Scientific research into the mechanisms and effectiveness of acupuncture continues to demonstrate the relevance of this ancient treatment modality. A recently-published study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Vol 172 (No. 11), June 11, 2012) is especially interesting because it is a well-designed clinical research study addressing the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The article, "A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Acupuncture in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: The COPD-Acupuncture Trial," describes a scientific study conducted from 2006 – 2009 at Kyoto University Hospital in Japan. The study was designed to assess how well acupuncture could manage dyspnea (shortness of breath) in COPD patients.

Sixty-eight COPD patients were divided into two groups of 34, one of which received real acupuncture treatments, while the control group received placebo acupuncture treatments. A standardized 11-point acupuncture prescription was used on all patients. Patients in the real-acupuncture group received acupuncture treatment once a week for 12 weeks, and both groups took a daily medication. The primary assessment tool to evaluate improvement was the 6-minute walk distance test. Patient levels of dyspnea were evaluated on a 10-point scale of "breathing very well" to "severely breathless" before and immediately after the walk test. Secondary assessment measures included oxygen saturation levels during the walk test, forced expiratory volume, thorax mobility, and a dyspnea-related quality-of-life questionnaire.

The real-acupuncture group's scores for the walk-distance test indicated significant improvement in their breathing, while no improvement was seen in the placebo acupuncture group's scores. The real-acupuncture group also showed better exercise tolerance and reduced dyspnea on exertion, and statistically significant improvements in nutritional status, arterial blood gasses, and range of motion in the rib cage. The study concluded that acupuncture is a useful adjunctive therapy for COPD management. The study also suggested a possible mechanism that would explain the positive results of acupuncture treatment. As people with COPD struggle to breathe, their thoracic muscles are hyperactivated, resulting in constriction of the rib cage. Acupuncture may cause the thoracic muscles to relax, resulting in increased mobility of the rib cage and easier breathing.

 

For the full text of the study, click http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1151703