Acupuncture Goes Mainstream In UK

BBC NEWS :

Patients with persistent low back pain should be offered acupuncture, massages or exercises on the NHS, says guidance.

It is the first time the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has explicitly backed the use of complementary therapies.

Read the whole story: BBC NEWS

Comments

[fleaba]

11:41 AM on 05/29/2009

Once again, the U.S. is out of the running for any sort of progressive health care, never mind complimentary medicine. The entire healthcare issue in the U.S. makes me so irate that I can't even be rational discussing it.

[AngieMom57]

05:56 PM on 05/30/2009

I know how you feel, yet please keep trying, the balls in our court.

The whole, AMA, pharmaceutical, FDA, health insurance network needs to be overhauled!

Given the choice of $300.00 worth of pharmaceutical drugs for common aliments and non-life threatening conditions and $300.00 worth of non invasive treatment from an acupuncturist, chiropractor, or massage therapist, which one would any right minded person choose?

[VicDaring]

11:10 AM on 06/01/2009

I'll take the one with with the most scientifically proven effectiveness.

You can pretty much bet that means it won't be "ancient" or "Eastern" or "prgressive."

[Jonahson]

08:21 AM on 05/29/2009

People who are biased against acupuncture are either scared of needles or are young people who have not yet experience pain associated with old age. If it is just a placebo then why do the medical profession all over bother to do researh on it? I think we should not be bothered by people who choose to be ignorant let them quack all they want after all they are entitled to their opinon.

[Seldon]

05:42 PM on 05/29/2009

Because it is not just an opinion it is science. There is no medicinal basis for acupuncture. It is a placebo.

Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(9):858-866

This is actually a very good study and is reasonably well controlled. Acupuncture actually does give some benefit when used on top of conventional medicine (importantly though it is on top of, and not instead of). However "sham" acupuncture involving toothpicks yielded the same result as "proper" acupuncture implying that there is nothing about chi, or nerve lines that actually do anything, but merely allowing the patient to feel that something is being done explains the entire effect.

As scientists we DO research everything. You have an idea, we study it, just like this one (unless it is so obviously nonsense that it isn't worth the research money). If the research shows there is some positive effect then the medical community would be on it like white on rice. So called "Alternative Medicine" such as acupuncture is not highly regarded because the science demonstrates that it doesn't really work. It is not bias - it is cold hard evidence.

If you honestly want to have acupuncture go for it. Unfortunately now the taxpayer picks up the tab. This is a minor annoyance and am not too bothered by it.

It is the anti-vaccinationists that pose a threat to public health.

[SydneyAustralia]

01:04 AM on 05/29/2009

Acupuncture has been available for over a decade in Australia. Free of charge
through our publicly funded Medicare cover. Finding a qualified doctor is the
only drawback.

[LizinOhio]

08:54 PM on 05/28/2009

Ten weeks ago I underwent acupuncture therapy to stop smoking and I haven't had a cigarette in 10 weeks! That's saying a lot from someone who smoked for over 30 years.

[longnow]

06:45 PM on 05/28/2009

All the Neuro guys keep yelling "no proof", "quack medicine"...
It works but what do you want when you have 5 different
diagnoses from 5 different acupuncturists for 1 patient.

[Seldon]

02:27 PM on 05/28/2009

I guess they weren't aware of the study showing that acupuncture had the same effectiveness as prodding someone with toothpicks

[wisewoman7]

06:10 PM on 05/28/2009

Acupuncture has relieved my chronic neck pain like no other form of treatment has. I tried toothpicks but didn't have the same effect. I'll take the real thing.

[wm1066]

06:27 PM on 05/28/2009

Prodding someone with toothpicks is like acupressure which can work but not as good as the tuning fork vibrations that the needles provide. You can't feel the needles vibrating but your body does, and its the vibration that sends the electrical pulse to the body part via the brain nervous system.