South Korean researchers have shown that acupuncture helps post-surgical dry eye syndrome, when used alongside usual care. A total of 18 patients with dry eye syndrome occurring after refractive surgery, received either acupuncture plus usual care, or usual care alone. Acupuncture was given three times per week for a total of 12 treatments.
In the acupuncture group, ocular surface disease index scores tended to decrease, while those in the usual care group increased. After four weeks, there was a significant difference between the two groups, in favour of acupuncture. The team concludes that four weeks of acupuncture treatment in addition to usual care, is a feasible treatment for dry eye syndrome after refractive surgery. A full-scale randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm clinical effectiveness.
(Acupuncture for dry eye syndrome after refractive surgery: A randomized controlled pilot trial. Integrative Medicine Research, March 2021.)
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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