Japanese university researchers have examined the effects of acupuncture for lower back pain, and related mood disturbances and medical expenses, among employees of a steel firm.
Acupuncture was given once a week to 72 workers, averaging 53 years in age. After eight weeks of treatment, patients reported less pain and a significant decrease in mood disturbance. There were also significant reductions in the number of visits to hospital for conventional care, and in medical expenses related to lower back pain. The authors say we can expect wide-ranging economic effects if acupuncture treatment were to be introduced into companies.
(Acupuncture Can Reduce Perceived Pain, Mood Disturbances and Medical Expenses Related to Low Back Pain among Factory Workers. Industrial Health, 2008).
A review paper by American authors supports the use of acupuncture for cardiac arrhythmias. In the eight published studies they reviewed, between 87% and 100% of patients converted to normal sinus rhythm after acupuncture treatment. The limited quality of current studies however, calls for further controlled clinical trials with standardized treatment protocols, diverse patient populations, and long-term follow-up.
Swedish researchers have looked at the effects of minimal acupuncture for colic, in babies unresponsive to conventional treatment. Forty such babies, median age six weeks, were recruited from 21 child welfare clinics and assigned to receive either acupuncture (light needling for twenty seconds at two points only), or the same care except acupuncture. The acupuncture group cried significantly less after the treatment, and exhibited a significant reduction in pain-related behaviour eg facial expression. Parents also rated acupuncture as more effective than the care received by the control group.