A team at Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University, Brazil has demonstrated that acupuncture can significantly reduce the incidence of post-operative nausea in patients undergoing hysterectomy. A total of 97 patients were randomly allocated to receive either acupuncture or no acupuncture as a control. All patients received two standard drugs preventatively, in case of the occurrence of nausea and vomiting. Acupuncture was given at the point Neiguan bilaterally for 30 minutes pre-operatively.
Acupuncture was found to significantly reduce the incidence of nausea (29% versus 6%) and the need for rescue medication (33% versus 10%). Vomiting was unchanged.
(Effects of Preoperative Acupuncture on Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting and Plasma Serotonin Values in the Hysterectomy Postoperative Period: a Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies, 31 October 2022.)
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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