Can Acupuncture in Your Ear Help You Lose Weight?

Would you stick needles in your ear to lose weight and trim your waistline? A study found that acupuncture treatment helped participants slim down in just eight weeks.

There's hope if Christmas over-indulgence leaves you with an unsightly spare tyre – because acupuncture on the ear will banish it, say researchers.

They found it helped overweight people slim down within eight weeks, especially around the midriff. Read more

Acupuncture Works, One Way or Another

Even though Western scientists can't explain how acupuncture works, a new study found that it does anyway.

Many people with chronic pain swear by acupuncture, but skeptics of the ancient needle-based treatment have long claimed that it's little more than an elaborate placebo.

A new study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine appears to at least somewhat vindicate the acupuncture believers.

After re-analyzing data from 29 high-quality clinical trials dating back to the 1990s, researchers have concluded that the pain relief derived from acupuncture is partly real, in that it can't be ascribed entirely to the placebo effect. Read more

Acupuncture Has Significant Impact on Mystery Illnesses

Acupuncture has a "significant" effect on patients with mystery symptoms and could be added to the list of available treatments for undiagnosed health problems, research shows.

One in five patients has symptoms which are undiagnosed by medicine, and the cost of treating them is twice that as of a diagnosed patient.

A team from the University of Exeter examined 80 patients, and investigated the benefit of acupuncture being added to their usual care.

After the first trial of its type, researchers say those who underwent acupuncture showed 'a significant and sustained benefit' and add that the treatment could be safely added to the list of possible therapies. Read more

Acupuncture of Benefit to Those with Unexplained Symptoms

A new study found that acupuncture can benefit patients with medically unexplained symptoms.

Attending frequently with medically unexplained symptoms is distressing for both patient and doctor and effective treatment or management options are limited: one in five patients have symptoms that remain unexplained by conventional medicine. Studies have shown that the cost to the NHS of managing the treatment of a patient with medically unexplained symptoms can be twice that of a patient with a diagnosis.

A research team from the Institute of Health Services Research, Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, has carried out a randomised control trial and a linked interview study regarding 80 such patients from GP practices across London, to investigate their experiences of having five-element acupuncture added to their usual care. This is the first trial of traditional acupuncture for people with unexplained symptoms.

The results of the research are published in the British Journal of General Practice. They reveal that acupuncture had a significant and sustained benefit for these patients and consequently acupuncture could be safely added to the therapies used by practitioners when treating frequently attending patients with medically unexplained symptoms. Read more

Acupuncture for Menopause

Could acupuncture be key to relieving the symptoms of menopause?

Acupuncture can help women suffering from the most common symptoms of menopause, it is claimed.

A study suggests the ancient Chinese needle therapy can curb the severity of hot flushes and also relieve mood swings among women receiving it regularly. Read more

U.S. Military Deploys Acupuncture to Treat Soldiers' Concussions.

The U.S. military is using "battlefield acupuncture" to treat soldiers' concussions.

The U.S. military is applying an ancient Chinese healing technique to the top modern battlefield injury for American soldiers, with results that doctors here say are "off the charts."

"Battlefield acupuncture," developed by Air Force physician Col. Richard Niemtzow, is helping heal soldiers with concussions so they can return more quickly to the front lines. Read more

Acupuncture Beats Aspirin for Chronic Headache

A review of studies involving nearly 4,000 patients shows that acupuncture beats aspirin for chronic headaches.

Acupuncture works better than drugs like aspirin to reduce the severity and frequency of chronic headaches, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

A review of studies involving nearly 4,000 patients with migraine, tension headache and other forms of chronic headache showed that that 62 percent of the acupuncture patients reported headache relief compared to 45 percent of people taking medications, the team at Duke University found. Read more