BENEFITS OF ACUPUNCTURE FOR FIBROMYALGIA

A Spanish study has found acupuncture to be effective for pain relief and improving quality of life in patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

Researchers randomly assigned 164 fibromyalgia patients a course of either individualised acupuncture treatments or else sham acupuncture. The patients received one session per week for ten weeks in addition to any continuing pharmacological treatment.

At the end of the treatment period, those receiving acupuncture reported a significant decrease in pain intensity compared with the sham acupuncture group (41.2% as opposed to 27.1%). This difference between the two groups continued at twelve month follow-up (19.9% compared to 6.1%).

Fibromyalgia impact scores and also fatigue, anxiety, and depression were also found to be better in the acupuncture group.

Acupuncture for fibromyalgia in primary care: a randomised controlled trial. Acupunct Med. 2016 Feb 15. pii: acupmed-2015-010950

ncbi.nlm.nih/gov/pubmed/26879181