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Acupuncture May Help With Chronic Pain

 

One of the most significant health and social problems facing the United States in 2019 is the growing opioid crisis. Data from CDC, AHRQ, and U.S. Health and Human Services show that more than 1000 people are treated in emergency rooms each day across the U.S. for misusing prescription opioids. As many as 1 in 5 people receive prescription opioids long-term for non-cancer pain in primary care settings. Even more telling is a study that appeared in JAMA (September 17, 2017) which showed that although life expectancy in the U.S. has increased overall between 2000 and 2015, 0.21 years were lost due to opioid related deaths.

As awareness of the staggering toll of the opioid crisis increases, so does interest in medical treatments which do not involve pain medications. Acupuncture for instance is now given more consideration for treatment of different pain syndromes, rather than relying on opioid medications.

A well-designed study from 2018 looked at using acupuncture for chronic pain. A group of researchers from the Acupuncture Trialists’ Collaboration, composed of scientists from the U.S., U.K., and Europe looked specifically at acupuncture for chronic headache, musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, or shoulder pain.

This research group had published a previous study in 2012 (Archives of Internal Medicine). For the 2018 meta-analysis an additional 13 studies were included (published between December 2008 and December 2015), yielding nearly 21,000 subjects from a total of 39 trials. The distribution of study participants was quite widespread, including those from Australia, China, Germany, the U.S. and U.K.

Results of the study demonstrated that acupuncture has a clinically relevant impact compared to the control group of no acupuncture. In addition, the effects of acupuncture tended to persist over at least a year-long period. Interestingly, acupuncture appeared to most effective on upper body musculoskeletal pain.

Given that acupuncture is generally thought to be a safe and well tolerated treatment, it may deserve consideration for treatment of chronic pain syndromes.

(Source- The Journal of Pain, Vol 19, No. 5, May)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.

 

Acupuncture May Help With Opioid Abuse

As we head into 2019 one of the most significant problems facing the U.S. is the on-going opioid crisis. Data from the CDC illustrates the enormity of the opioid epidemic. On average, 130 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose. More than 2/3rds of the 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017 were due to an opioid. Finally, in financial terms, the economic burden of prescription opioid misuse in the U.S. is estimated to be $78.5 billion annually.

As awareness of the opioid crisis increases, interest in other medical treatments which do not involve pain medications has increased as well. For instance, acupuncture is now given more consideration as a possible treatment for various pain syndromes, versus opioid medications.

A recently published study by a group of Chinese researchers examined the use of acupuncture for treating opioid use disorder (OUD) in adults. This was a meta-analysis, including nine studies and over 1000 participants in total. The studies were completed in China, the U.K., and the U.S. Various forms of acupuncture were used including electroacupuncture, manual acupuncture, auricular (ear) acupuncture, and transcutaneous accupoint electrical stimulation.

Results of the meta-analysis showed that acupuncture could be effective in treating opioid use disorder among adults. The mechanism by which acupuncture treats OUD is not clear, but may be related to release of the body’s endogenous peptides, which have opiate-like activity. These include dysmorphins, endorphins, and enkephalins.

In general acupuncture has been found to be a safe and well-tolerated treatment for a number of medical conditions. Given this, and the positive results of the above study, acupuncture may prove to be a helpful tool for opioid use disorder treatment.

(Source- Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2018, ID 3724708)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.