A Cochrane database systematic review has concluded that current evidence supports the use of acupuncture to reduce menstrual pain.
Australian authors reviewed ten trials covering a total of 944 women receiving acupuncture or acupressure, to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture compared with placebo, no treatment, and conventional drugs eg painkillers or the oral contraceptive pill. They found that acupuncture gave an improvement in pain relief compared with placebo control or Chinese herbs. In two trials, acupuncture gave superior relief from other symptoms such as back pain, compared with standard medication. In another trial, quality of life was improved with acupuncture, compared with usual care. No significant adverse events were identified. The authors called for further, well-designed trials to look at acupuncture for period pain.
(Acupuncture for Primary Dysmenorrhoea. Cochrane Database Systematic Review, January 2011.)
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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