Month: July 2008

Acupuncture for Pelvic & Back Pain in Pregnancy

A review of three trials looking at the effectiveness of acupuncture for pelvic and back pain in pregnancy, has shown promising results. The authors examined two small trials on mixed back and pelvic pain, and one large, high-quality trial on pelvic pain. Acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard treatment, was superior to standard treatment alone and to physiotherapy in relieving mixed pelvic/back pain. Adverse events were few and only minor. The authors conclude that the limited evidence supports acupuncture use in treating pregnancy-related pelvic and back pain. Additional high-quality trials are needed to test the existing promising evidence for this relatively safe and popular complementary therapy.

(Acupuncture for pelvic and back pain in pregnancy: a systematic review. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, March 2008.)

Acupuncture Improves IVF Success Rate

An analysis of seven clinical trials in which acupuncture was used to support embryo transfer during IVF, has concluded that it improves rates of both pregnancy and live birth. American and Dutch researchers analysed results from the trials, which were all published since 2002, carried out in four western countries and included 1366 women.

They compared acupuncture given within one day of embryo transfer, with sham acupuncture and with no acupuncture at all. Women who received true acupuncture were 65% more likely to have a successful embryo transfer, and 91% more likely to have a live birth. This means that if ten women undergoing IVF, were also given acupuncture, then one additional pregnancy would result.

(Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 6 March 2008.)

Please see Robin’s comment above.

Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain

Researchers studying the effects of acupuncture for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, randomised 89 patients into two groups, receiving either true or sham acupuncture, twice-weekly over ten weeks. (The sham group acted as a control and were lead to believe they were experiencing real acupuncture.) In the true acupuncture group, 73% of patients responded, compared to only 47% in the sham group. At follow-up 24 weeks later, this level of response was maintained by 32% of the acupuncture group and only 13% of the sham control group. Patients receiving true acupuncture were thus 2.4 times more likely to experience long-term benefit.

(Acupuncture versus Sham Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/ Chronic Pelvic Pain. American Journal of Medicine, January 2008.)