Research from Taiwan suggests that acupuncture improves markers of renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease. A total of 59 such patients were randomised to receive either acupuncture or sham treatment. Sessions were given once a week for 12 weeks.
At the end of the treatment period, levels of serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate were found to have improved significantly in the acupuncture group compared with the sham control group. The authors of this feasibility study say that further investigation is now warranted.
(Acupuncture on Renal Function in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Single-Blinded, Randomized, Preliminary Controlled Study. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 1 August 2017.)
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.
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