Episiotomy Pain Successfully Treated with Acupuncture

An abstract reprinted here:

Italian clinicians have successfully used acupuncture to relieve perineal pain after episiotomy. Forty-two women who had an episiotomy during childbirth were enrolled in a pilot study. Women in the acupuncture group were significantly less likely to experience pain; 38.1% of women in the acupuncture group asked for analgesics, while all women in the control group requested oral analgesics because of perineal pain. Wrist-ankle acupuncture as perianal pain relief after medio-lateral episiotomy: a pilot study. Journal of Alternative and Complement Med. 2011 Mar;17(3):239-41.

Eye Diseases, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine has been used to treat a wide variety of eye diseases for more than three thousand years and can often have startlingly dramatic effect upon serious and progressive illness.

Below I am including a few of the recent studies which use modern scientific methods to validate the techniques which we have been using for millenium.

Acupuncture reduces eye pressure in glaucoma

• [As reported in the Journal of Chinese Medicine] Acupuncture appears to benefit glaucoma patients by decreasing intraocular pressure (IOP) and improving blood circulation behind the eye. In the first study of its type, Japanese researchers enrolled eleven patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and measured eye haemodynamics before, during and after either acupuncture or rest. Acupuncture was performed once, for 15 minutes, without needle manipulation, at bilateral Zanzhu BL-2, Taiyang M-HN-9, Sibai ST-2, Zusanli ST-36, Sanyinjiao SP-6, Taixi KID-3, Taichong LIV-3, Fengchi GB-20, Ganshu BL-18 and Shenshu BL-23. All patients continued to take their medication. The researchers found that IOP decreased significantly after acupuncture. Acupuncture also resulted in decreased resistance in blood vessels behind the eye, specifically ophthalmic and short posterior ciliary arteries. (Short-term effects of acupuncture on open-angle glaucoma in retrobulbar circulation: additional therapy to standard. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:157090. Epub 2011 Mar 7).

• From a Japanese medical school's research department comes this study, titled Acupuncture for Patients with Glaucoma. The researchers looked at the effects of an acupuncture method for patients with glaucoma, focusing on intraocular pressure (IOP) and visual acuity. The study used acupuncture twice weekly over 5 weeks. The results showed that intraocular pressure was significantly improved at 15 minutes after acupuncture, at one week, two weeks, and five weeks and tended to be lower weekly. Uncorrected visual acuity was significantly improved at three weeks, four weeks, and five weeks, and best corrected visual acuity was significantly improved at five weeks. 

• A German study, from Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd, entitled, Standardized Acupuncture Therapy in Patients with Ocular Hypertension or Glaucoma--Results of a Prospective Observation StudyAugenärztliche Praxis, showed that, compared with the mean intraocular pressure in both eyes before treatment (21.94 +/- 2.4 mm Hg), patients showed a significant decrease 15 min after treatment (-2.67 +/- 1.34 mm Hg) as well as 24 h after treatment (-2.5 +/- 2.13 mm Hg). There was no significant difference between the mean intraocular pressure at 15 min after treatment and at 24 h after treatment. No adverse events were observed.The results of this study indicate that acupuncture therapy may be a valid treatment option for glaucoma and ocular hypertension patients. Additional and, if possible, randomized studies investigating the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of the above-mentioned conditions still need to be conducted.

• From the journal, Medical Acupuncture, comes a followup to an initial study of acupuncture for macular degeneration with a modified protocol and an analysis of the improvement that many patients found with acupuncture therapy. 

Eminent Herbalist's Article on Bias at the Economist Magazine

This is a direct repost of famous herbalist Michael Tierra's weblog in which he slams Dr. Edzard Ernst on his recent Economist article which both lumps all non-Western medicines together as 'alternative' and then bashes them. In it, Tierra expresses exasperation at this bias and points out a few of the errors in that article:

A recent article published in the Economist entitled “Think Yourself Better” claims that all alternative medical treatments are mere placebos . . . The article is based on the single opinion of a Dr Edzard Ernst, who retires from his 18-year professorship at Peninsula Medical School in southwest England in May. Described by the author as the world’s first professor of complementary medicine, it seems that all Dr. Ernst can say to sum up his findings is that nearly all alternative medicine -- indiscriminately lumping the entire kit and caboodle including acupuncture, herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, crystal healing, reiki, and flower essences -- are mere placebo. It is a well-known fact that 40 to 60 percent of medical procedures and drugs is claimed to be due to placebo. In light of this, it seems reasonable that one would prefer to “think him/herself better” with herbs, acupuncture, homeopathy, TCM or Ayurveda that has a long, sound record of safety and efficacy unmatched by invasive medical procedures and drugs that are extremely expensive with a high probability of adverse reactions. For example, statin drugs taken to lower cholesterol cause a high number of people to develop symptoms of rhabdomyalgia, chronic acute muscle pain caused by a breakdown of muscle fibers. Instead, one might avoid such a horrible side effect by taking the Ayurvedic herb guggul or a garlic supplement. If necessary, red yeast rice lowers cholesterol with no adverse reactions. Or, perhaps in lieu of an open heart bypass surgery, one might take hawthorn and/or arjuna herb supplement. Many of you might think I’ve taken things too far with this one. I refer you to an article by Dr. Jonathan Wright published in January 2004, reporting that Dr. Henry McIntosh, a highly respected cardiologist at Baylor University, observing the results of heart bypass surgery over the course of 15 years, said, “Despite a low operative mortality and rate of graft closure, available data in the literature do not indicate that myocardial infarctions, arrhythmias or congestive heart failure will be prevented, or that life will be prolonged in the vast majority of patients.” Similar opinion is shared by Dr. Howard H. Wayne M.D. of the Non-Invasive Heart Center in San Diego, California, and the same sentiments were reflected in an article in a July, 2008 article in Business Week Magazine entitled “Is Heart Surgery Worth It?” Would you rather relieve back pain with acetaminophen, the OTC drug that is known to injure your already beleaguered liver, or with turmeric or willow bark which relieves inflammation and pain with no side effects? You should know thatacetaminophen drugs such as Tylenol send 56,000 people to the hospital emergency ward with a reported 458 deaths a year caused by liver failure. Finally, did you know that correctly prescribed medical treatment and pharmaceutical drugs are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., with up to 106,000 deaths a year? The third leading cause is blatant medical malpractice, according to the prestigious Journal of American Medicine Association (JAMA). I don’t want to make this an either-or, bash the medical establishment article, but when a leading magazine publishes such poorly considered schlock, I think we need to speak up for our side -- a side, by the way, that much of the medical profession is slowly coming to validate. For the remaining unbelievers, following are a number of randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind studies for herbs, acupuncture and homeopathy that Dr. Ernst should have come across during his 18 year spot as professor of complementary medicine – but as we now know, he didn’t. Herb studies: Tripterygerium wilfordii, a.k.a. Thunder god vine, for rheumatoid arthritis Buckwheat for leg edema Lemon balm for Alzheimer's disease Ginger for nausea in pregnancy Celandine and angelica for IBS Andrographis for colds and upper respiratory infections Chinese herbs for atopic dermatitis in infants Chamomile and fennel for infant colic (this is published in a respected and credible journal dedicated to phytotherapy research) Chinese herbal formula Rehmannia Eight for senile dementia Chinese herbal formula Free and Easy Wanderer for depression and bipolar disorders Passionflower for post-operative anxiety Common sage for Alzheimer's Milk thistle for diabetes Acupuncture studies: Acupuncture helps with fibromyalgia symptoms – Mayo clinic: Acupuncture relieves back pain – University of Maryland study Acupuncture for the immune system study Chinese Medicine for depression and anxiety Homeopathy research studies: Allergies, hay fever Face lift bruises Eczema and homeopathic medicine For numerous other homeopathic research studies go to the National Center for homeopathy: http://bit.ly/lp3SaA

Crohn's Disease Treatable by Acupuncture, Study Says

A recent study in the Journal of Acupuncture demonstrates, yet again, the utility of Chinese medicine in treating Crohn's disease. The article, cited here, describes the study which looked at the treatment of several acupoints in managing the disease, which is characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. This inflammation often leads to diarrhea, abdominal bloating and pain, vomiting, weight loss, eye disorders, arthritis, dermatological disorders, and fatigue.

Image courtesy of http://www.radpod.org/2006/12/02/crohns-disease-2/

There are many other studies, from around the world which demonstrate the utility of Chinese medicine in treating this digestive problem. Among them is a German study published in Digestion [abstract readable here], which concluded that, "...traditional acupuncture offers an additional therapeutic benefit in patients with mild to moderately active CD."

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapy have a long history of treating this disorder, often very successfully. At the Northside Holistic Center we frequently treat Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, and other chronic digestive issues.

Menopausal Hot Flashes Respond to Acupuncture

It seems like every month or two a new study is published which demonstrates the utility of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for hot flashes. One would think this would be common knowledge in the Western medical community, by now. The most recent study, reported on in Business Week, showed that, "After 10 weeks, the women in the traditional acupuncture group had significantly less severe hot flashes and mood swings than those who'd gotten the fake treatment."

There have been literally scores of studies which demonstrate the benefit of acupuncture and Chinese herbology for hot flashes (see here for a few more). Of course, this is nothing new to those of us who work with menopausal symptoms each day in our clinics or for the women treated by those acupuncturists over the last few thousand years. Still it is reassuring to see so many studies being performed which back up our empirical experience with results that will help to convince a gradually thawing western medical audience that we can offer substantial benefit to their patients.