J.McDonald & S.Jantz teamed up to investigate all high quality evidence based research across all conditions treatable with acupuncture to come up with a comprehensive article reviewing the effectiveness of acupuncture.
Their paper was published early this year (link at bottom for those interested in viewing the whole document)
In plain english -
"Bottom Line
Our study found evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for 117 conditions, with stronger evidence for acupuncture’s effectiveness for some conditions than others. Acupuncture is considered safe in the hands of a well-trained practitioner and has been found to be cost effective for some conditions. The quality and quantity of research into acupuncture’s effectiveness is increasing."
"The Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association Ltd (AACMA) identified the need for an updated review of the evidence with greater rigour than was possible in the past and commissioned The Acupuncture Evidence Project.
We searched the literature with a focus on systematic reviews and meta analyses (the highest form of evidence available). We sorted the evidence to identify which conditions acupuncture has been found to be most effective for. We also looked for evidence of acupuncture’s safety and cost-effectiveness, and we reported how the evidence for acupuncture’s effectiveness has changed over an eleven-year time-frame."
"Key results
Strong evidence supported the effectiveness of acupuncture for 8 conditions, moderate evidence supported the use of acupuncture for a further 38 conditions."
"It is no longer possible to say that the effectiveness of acupuncture is because of the placebo effect, or that it is useful only for musculoskeletal pain."
The full document (81 pages) is available from Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association Ltd. http://www.acupuncture.org.au.
