Unexplainable symptoms 'could be treated with acupuncture'
Tuesday 31st May 2011
Patients who complain of unexplainable symptoms could be treated with alternative therapy acupuncture, a new study has indicated.
Research published in the British Journal of General Practice studied the effect of adding five-element acupuncture to their usual care routine.
The group was made up of 80 adults, 80 per cent of whom were female, had an average age of 50 years and had seen their GP at least eight times in the past year. In addition, almost 60 per cent reported musculoskeletal health problems.
Half of the patients underwent five-element acupuncture which encompassed up to 12 sessions over 26 weeks while the others did not.
In a "Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile" health status questionnaire, those that had received the alternative therapy registered a significantly improved overall score.
Researcher Dr Charlotte Paterson said: "Such intervention could not only result in potential resource savings for the NHS, but would also improve the quality of life for a group of patients for whom traditional biomedicine has little in the way of effective diagnosis and treatment."
This is not the first time an alternative therapy has been shown to have medical benefits.
Scientists from the University of Colorado found that the condition of brain injury patients could be improved through the use of Jin Shin acupressure, which focuses on points located on "meridians" throughout the body.
Written by Martin Lambert
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