What does science research say about acupuncture?
Acupuncture-Evidence-Based Treatment
Strong Evidence Supporting Effectiveness
- Allergic rhinitis (perennial & seasonal)
- Chemotherapy-induced nausea & vomiting (with antii-emetics)
- Chronic low back pain
- Headaches (tension-type and chronic)
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Migraine prophylaxis
- Postoperative nausea & vomiting
- Postoperative pain
Moderate Evidence Supporting Effectiveness
- Acute low back pain
- Acute stroke
- Ambulatory anesthesia
- Anxiety
- Aromatase-inhibitor-induced arthralgia
- Asthma in adults
- Back or pelvic pain during pregnancy
- Cancer pain
- Cancer-related fatigue
- Constipation
- Craniotomy anesthesia
- Depression (with antidepressants)
- Dry eye
- Hypertension (with medication)
- Insomnia
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Labor pain
- Lateral elbow pain
- Menopausal hot flashes
- Modulating sensory perception thresholds
- Neck pain
- Obesity
- Perimenopausal & Postmenopausal insomnia
- Plantar heel pain
- Post-stroke insomnia
- Post-stroke shoulder pain
- Post-stroke spasticity
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Prostatitis pain / chronic pelvic pain syndrome
- Recovery after colorectal cancer resection
- Restless leg syndrome
- Schizophrenia (with antipsychotics)
- Sciatica Shoulder impingement syndrome (early stages, with exercise)
- Shoulder pain
- Smoking cessation (up to 3 months)
- Stroke rehabilitation
- Temporomandibular pain /TMJ
Source: The Acupuncture Evidence Project: A Comparative Literature Review by John McDonald and Stephen Janz, January 2017 (Revised Edition)