Sunday, May 3, 2009

Acupuncture for fibromyalgia symptoms

The Facts:

* Fibromyalgia is a condition that may result in continuous muscle pain, fatigue, depression and sleep disturbance. Its cause is not fully understood.

* A clinical study was performed in 50 patients to investigate whether acupuncture was useful in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

* Acupuncture had a beneficial effect in patients with fatigue and anxiety being most noticeably improved.

Shaun’s comment: Fibromyalgia affects around 5% of people – it is much more common in females and those who are between 20 and 50 years old. There are many unpleasant symptoms, the most common being constant pain in the muscles, leading to problems with sleep and problems with mood and thinking. Drugs that are used to help the symptoms mostly have side effects that can be almost as unpleasant as the disease and so alternative and natural treatments are being researched. This study, published in an excellent journal, suggests that acupuncture would be well worth trying.

Study Reference:

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/Abstract.asp?AID=3113&UID=&Abst=Abstract

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