Researchers in Brazil have concluded that acupuncture can reduce the symptoms of anxiety in women undergoing a course of IVF treatment. A total of 43 women were randomly allocated to receive either true acupuncture, or sham acupuncture using needles inserted in the vicinity of, but not actually at, acupuncture points. Treatment comprised four weekly sessions, after which the mean IVF anxiety score in the acupuncture group was significantly lower compared to the sham treatment group.
(Effect of Acupuncture on Symptoms of Anxiety in Women undergoing In Vitro Fertilisation: A Prospective Randomised Controlled Study. Acupuncture in Medicine, April 2012, epub ahead of print.)
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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