Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
A recent study showed that uterine lining health may be more important than egg quality in creating a healthy birth weight baby and carrying to term. (Click here for the Time article about this published research). This was a large study out of Baylor that reviewed over 300,000 IVF cycles with specific interest in birth weight and gestation. What they found was that IVF cycles that stimulated the uterus (which is the majority) had lower birth weight and less chance of carrying to term than ones that were unstimulated such as donor egg, surrogate or frozen transfer.
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Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Below is the abstract of a recent research article that stimulating a certain acupuncture point GB-34 known as “Yang Ling Quan” (translated loosely to Yang Mound Spring) helped improve gait in the elderly. It was a randomized control trial which is what makes it a bit more interesting. Stimulating one point on each person is not acupuncture as acupuncture is individualized based on a person’s pattern. However it does show that needles inserted into the subcutaneous tissue can have therapeutic physiological effects that have yet to be clearly understood (although there are many theories as to why acupuncture works so effectively for a wide variety of conditions).
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Jan;92(1):7-14.
Stimulation of Acupoint ST-34 Acutely Improves Gait Performance in Geriatric Patients During Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
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Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 at 10:11 pm
A recent small pilot study (36 participants) with dry eyes demonstrated that acupuncture can increase increase tear wetting. (click here for study) In my practice I do not use acupuncture as a first line therapy for dry eyes. I look to nutrition first, as often increasing essential fatty acids, especially Omega-3 can resolve dry eyes. I usually suggest patients use flax seed oil for dry eyes. If that does not resolve the dry eyes then often individualized herbal medicine quickly brings relief.
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Thursday, December 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
A recent study published in this month’s Journal of Pain demonstrated that acupuncture has a much more favorable outcome for carpal tunnel syndrome after 1 year of treatment compared to steroids.
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Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 at 8:48 am
de Valois BA, Young TE, Robinson N, McCourt C, Maher EJ.
Supportive Oncology Research Team (SORT), Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre (LJMC), Mount Vernon Hospital, Middlesex, United Kingdom. beverley.devalois@nhs.net
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Women taking tamoxifen experience hot flashes and night sweats (HF&NS); acupuncture may offer a nonpharmaceutical method of management. This study explored whether traditional acupuncture (TA) could reduce HF&NS frequency, improve physical and emotional well-being, and improve perceptions of HF&NS. Read the rest of this entry
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Acupuncture reduces crying in infants with infantile colic: a randomised, controlled, blind clinical study.
Landgren K, Kvorning N, Hallström I.
1Department of Health Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether acupuncture reduces the duration and intensity of crying in infants with colic. Patients and methods 90 otherwise healthy infants, 2-8 weeks old, with infantile colic were randomised in this controlled blind study. 81 completed a structured programme consisting of six visits during 3 weeks to an acupuncture clinic in Sweden. Parents blinded to the allocation of their children met a blinded nurse. The infant was subsequently given to another nurse in a separate room, who handled all infants similarly except that infants allocated to receive acupuncture were given minimal, standardised acupuncture for 2 s in LI4. Read the rest of this entry
Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 5:00 am
There are many possibilities as to why acupuncture is so effective for many pain conditions. No doubt it isn’t just one or two mechanisms at work but several that may be different depending on the individual. A recent article found that adenosine which is a pain receptor modulator is expressed during acupuncture. This study was done in mice which may or may not translate to humans, although it is very likely this is one of the mechanisms at play.
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at 4:52 am
This from the European Journal of Applied Physiology:
Immediate effects of acupuncture on strength performance: a randomized, controlled crossover trial.
Hübscher M, Vogt L, Ziebart T, Banzer W.
Department of Sports Medicine, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Ginnheimer Landstrasse 39, 60487, Frankfurt, Germany, m.huebscher@sport.uni-frankfurt.de.
The present study investigated the immediate efficacy of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and placebo laser acupuncture on strength performance. A total of 33 recreational athletes (25.2 +/- 2.8 years; 13 women) were randomized to receive acupuncture, sham acupuncture (needling at non-acupuncture points) and placebo laser acupuncture (deactivated laser device) in a double-blind crossover fashion with 1 week between trials. Assessment included bipedal drop jumps for maximum rebound height and quadriceps maximum isometric voluntary force (MIVF). Furthermore, surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure the EMG activity of the rectus femoris muscle during a 30-s sustained MIVF of the knee extensors. Mean power frequency (MPF) analysis was applied to characterize muscular endurance. Measurements were performed at baseline and immediately after treatment by a blinded investigator. Repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc paired-sample t test with Bonferroni-Holm correction were used for statistical analysis. The difference in the mean change in MIVF from baseline between acupuncture (46.6 N) and sham laser acupuncture (19.6 N) was statistically significant (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found between acupuncture (46.6 N) and sham acupuncture (28.8 N). ANOVA did not show statistically significant treatment effects for drop jump height or MPF. The present study shows that a single acupuncture treatment was efficacious for improving isometric quadriceps strength in recreational athletes. These results might have implications not only for athletic performance enhancement, but also for rehabilitation programs aimed at restoring neuromuscular function.
Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at 8:25 am
Acupuncture has been clinically proven for two thousand years to be an effective solution for many pain conditions. It is also very effective for treating conditions and symptoms that modern medical treatment offers few desirable treatments.
A study out of Sloan-Kettering compared acupuncture to standard care for pain and dry mouth in cervical neck cancer surgery patients. The authors concluded “Significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and xerostomia were observed in patients receiving acupuncture versus usual care”. Acupuncture certainly has a place aside modern medicine to provide better care for many surgical patients.
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