Japanese university researchers have examined the effects of acupuncture for lower back pain, and related mood disturbances and medical expenses, among employees of a steel firm.
Acupuncture was given once a week to 72 workers, averaging 53 years in age. After eight weeks of treatment, patients reported less pain and a significant decrease in mood disturbance. There were also significant reductions in the number of visits to hospital for conventional care, and in medical expenses related to lower back pain. The authors say we can expect wide-ranging economic effects if acupuncture treatment were to be introduced into companies.
(Acupuncture Can Reduce Perceived Pain, Mood Disturbances and Medical Expenses Related to Low Back Pain among Factory Workers. Industrial Health, 2008).
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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