Acupuncture on JAMA

Bottom Line

Acupuncture is associated with improved pain outcomes compared with sham-acupuncture and no-acupuncture control, with response rates of approximately 30% for no acupuncture, 42.5% for sham acupuncture, and 50% for acupuncture.

Physicians’ Recommendation for Acupuncture

Many current guidelines recommend acupuncture in specific circumstances for back pain or headache. For instance, the American College of Physicians’ guidelines recommend acupuncture as one of several options, such as manual therapy or exercise, for patients with back pain; the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend acupuncture for chronic headache or migraine that does not respond to pharmacologic treatment. However, the evidence in favor of these guidelines has been reported as fair. There have been recommendations against using acupuncture for osteoarthritis in several guidelines including those from NICE and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. No current guidelines recommend acupuncture for neck or shoulder pain.

 

For the JAMA article, please click here.