Acupuncture for Severe Fibromyalgia

Acupuncture for severe fibromyalgia. Italian researchers have shown that a course of acupuncture for severe fibromyalgia, is effective for treating multiple mental and physical symptoms. In the study, 102 patients with chronic, treatment-resistant fibromyalgia, and attending as out-patients of a rheumatology clinic in Ancona, received eight acupuncture sessions on a weekly basis. All participants were allowed to continue drug therapy.

After the eight weeks, patients experienced significant improvements in all evaluated parameters, including fibromyalgia impact, neuropathic pain, pain catastrophising and global health. The researchers say that for the first time, acupuncture has been shown to be effective against disease features such as pain catastrophizing and neuropathic pain. Earlier intervention with multimodal strategies, including acupuncture, could be of great benefit to patients.

(Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia: An Open-Label Pragmatic Study on Effects on Disease Severity, Neuropathic Pain Features, and Pain Catastrophizing. Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 25 February 2020.)

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.