A review of the literature on the effectiveness of acupuncture on Essay

A review of the literature on the effectiveness of acupuncture on chronic neck pain - Essay Example This effect however was not found to be clinically significant. The design of the study was a randomised, single-blind, placebo controlled, parallel-arm trial. The sample of participants was selected from two outpatient departments in the UK, with a total of 124 study participants in total completing the trial. The participants selected were between 18 and 80 years old, and were all selected on the criteria of having chronic, mechanical neck pain. The study was measured on an outcome basis, with the primary outcome being continued pain after one week of treatment. Secondary outcomes were pain at other time points, score on the neck disability index and the Short Form-36, and use of analgesic medications. Patients received either 8 treatments with acupuncture over the space of 4 weeks or 8 treatments of mock transcutaneous electrical stimulation of acupuncture points. While the acupuncture was found to be effective in relieving the neck pain, it was found not to be clinically signific ant as the placebo group were also found to improve from the baseline. Based on the primary outcome of pain one week after beginning treatment, the study found only a 12% better improvement in those receiving acupuncture than those receiving the placebo. This small percentage was not deemed to be clinically significant despite being classed as statistically so. There were recognised to be limitations in the study, however. Although the treatments were all carried out by one practitioner, the control did not mimic the process of needling, which may have affected the credibility of the placebo. There was also no control by means of a non-intervention group, which could have been used to measure the significance of the treatment in comparison to patients having received no treatment at all for the neck pain. The study did not make any assessment to the safety of the procedure. Overall from this study, it would be concluded that acupuncture is not effective enough in treatment of