But is Acupuncture really effective?

Acupuncture recently won approval from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for treating several common health conditions and problems. According to an NIH panel of experts, which evaluated the scientific and medical evidence on needle acupuncture, this procedure effectively relieves:

• nausea and vomiting after surgery and chemotherapy
• morning sickness
• pain after dental surgery
  

While they found the evidence less convincing, NIH panel members also agree that acupuncture may be effective in treating a variety of other problems, including:

• addiction to drugs or alcohol
• headache
• menstrual cramps
• tennis elbow
• general muscle pain
• low back pain
• fibromyalgia
• postoperative pain
• osteoarthritis
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• asthma
  

The NIH experts only studied the effectiveness of acupuncture that uses needles that are manipulated manually or electrically. They did not look at acupressure or acupuncture that uses heat or lasers because less research has been conducted on these methods.

A person suffering from any of the conditions listed above may want to consider acupuncture. Future research will probably uncover even more conditions for which acupuncture can offer effective relief. But acupuncture is not necessarily effective for all health problems. For example, the NIH panel concluded that acupuncture does not help people quit smoking.