Acupuncture is the most effective Complementary Medicine for Musculoskeletal Conditions

Acupuncture for musculoskeletal problems: acupuncture is the most effective complementary medicine.

A report commissioned by the charity Arthritis Research UK, reveals acupuncture to be the most effective complementary medicine for treating musculoskeletal conditions, and one of only a few therapies the use of which is supported by medical evidence.

The report examined trial data on a range of twenty-five complementary therapies, and was aimed at helping patients and health professionals choose approaches which were both safe and effective. The therapies found to be most effective were: acupuncture for osteoarthritis, lower back pain and fibromyalgia; massage for lower back pain and fibromyalgia; tai chi for osteoarthritis; yoga for back pain. Dr Gareth Jones, from the University of Aberdeen, who was the main author of the report, points out that approximately one quarter of the UK population uses complementary therapies in one form or another; the use of these therapies is higher among people with pain or musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis.

(Practitioner-based complementary and alternative therapies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and low back pain. Published on-line 9 January 2013.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.