Acupuncture helps Chemotherapy Nausea

Acupuncture helps chemotherapy nausea according to the results of a multicentre study undertaken by hospital and university researchers in France. A total of 115 patients receiving chemotherapy, were randomised to one of four groups: usual care alone; wrist acupuncture; ear acupuncture; wrist and ear acupuncture together. Acupuncture was given just before chemotherapy. All patients received standard antiemetic medication. Nausea intensity was then assessed 24 hours after chemotherapy.

All three acupuncture treatment groups experienced significantly lower nausea intensity compared with the usual care group. None of the interventions though had any effect on vomiting episodes.

(Auriculotherapy and acupuncture treatments for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a multicenter clinical trial. Support Care in Cancer, 31 July 2024.)

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.