Researchers at Meiji University in Kyoto, Japan say true acupuncture is significantly better than sham, at reducing pain and improving function in patients with chronic shoulder pain. Eighteen patients, aged 42 to 65, who had experienced non-radiating shoulder pain for at least six months, were randomised to receive five weekly sessions of either acupuncture at muscular trigger points, or (sham) acupuncture at other points on the same muscles. At the end of the treatment period and compared to the sham group, pain intensity in the true acupuncture group had decreased significantly whilst shoulder function had increased significantly.
(Randomized trial of trigger point acupuncture treatment for chronic shoulder pain: a preliminary study. Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies, April 2014.)
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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