An audit of acupuncture in a single-handed general practice over one year.
(25/798)
An audit was performed over one year on all patients undergoing acupuncture for a variety of conditions in a single-handed GP practice. The patients were observed for a further year to assess the effectiveness and duration of the treatment effect. Using the 'measure yourself medical outcome profile' (MYMOP) questionnaire, the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment was measured, and patients were categorised into no effect, improved or much improved. A total of 140 patients were audited over the one-year period. No effect was seen in 31% of patients, a further 31% were improved, and 38% were much improved. Those with a shorter duration of symptoms appeared to show the most benefit. During the one-year post-treatment observation period 50% of patients required further treatment. In conclusion, acupuncture appears to have been an effective treatment in the author's General Practice population. In this audit acupuncture seems to have had a short duration of effect. It is believed that this has lead to an increase in workload, not only as a result of patient demand, but also due to recurrence of symptoms following the initial success of treatment. (+info)
An audit of the impact of introducing microacupuncture into primary care.
(26/798)
In 1997, one of the partners in a general practice in NW London comprising 6,700 patients began using microacupuncture--a very brief form of treatment described by Felix Mann. The computer system used for patient records was modified to allow easy recording of details of acupuncture treatments; the latter being performed opportunistically in standard 10-minute consultations. Over the course of three years, during which time a second partner began using acupuncture, referrals to acute physiotherapy (conditions present for < 3 months) fell by 86%, and referrals to outpatient rheumatology fell by 51%. This is likely to represent a considerable cost saving to the NHS. (+info)
East and west see eye to eye--an elective report.
(27/798)
A summary of personal experiences encountered as a medical student on elective at an eye hospital in China. It bears witness to the possibility of seamless combination of western and traditional Chinese medical practices in the field of ophthalmology. Included are also the acupuncture points used in the treatment of optic atrophy at this particular eye hospital. Address of eye hospital: Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center 54 South Xianlie Road Guangzhou 510060 China Period of elective: 5th January 2001-11th March 2001. (+info)
Travels in Japan.
(28/798)
Following his attendance at the ICMART meeting, in Myasaki in 1988, the author, a BMAS member, resolved to revisit Japan. He found that acupuncture was widely practised throughout the country; although the patients were in the main elderly. The range of techniques used ranged from TCM to western, and broadly mirrored the styles practised in the West. Most young people in Japan considered acupuncture to be rather old fashioned, and it is postulated that this contrasts with the population seeking complementary medicine in the West. (+info)
Mechanical signaling through connective tissue: a mechanism for the therapeutic effect of acupuncture.
(29/798)
The mechanism of action of acupuncture remains largely unknown. The reaction to acupuncture needling known as 'de qi', widely viewed as essential to the therapeutic effect of acupuncture, may be a key to understanding its mechanism of action. De qi includes a characteristic needling sensation, perceived by the patient, and 'needle grasp' perceived by the acupuncturist. During needle grasp, the acupuncturist feels pulling and increased resistance to further movement of the inserted needle. We hypothesize that 1) needle grasp is due to mechanical coupling between the needle and connective tissue with winding of tissue around the needle during needle rotation and 2) needle manipulation transmits a mechanical signal to connective tissue cells via mechanotransduction. Such a mechanism may explain local and remote, as well as long-term effects of acupuncture. (+info)
Pain management in polycystic kidney disease.
(30/798)
Pain is a common complaint in patients with autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease, and a systematic approach is needed to differentiate the etiology of the pain and define an approach to management. A thorough history is the best clue to the multifactorial causes of the pain, superimposed upon an understanding of the complex innervation network that supplies the kidneys. The appropriate use of diagnostic radiology (especially MRI) will assist in differentiating the mechanical low back pain caused by cyst enlargement, cyst rupture and cyst infection. Also, the increased incidence of uric acid nephrolithiasis as a factor in producing renal colic must be considered when evaluating acute pain in the population at risk. MRI is not a good technique to detect renal calculi, a frequent cause of pain in polycystic kidney disease. If stone disease is a possibility, then abdominal CT scan and/or ultrasound should be the method of radiologic investigation. Pain management is generally not approached in a systematic way in clinical practice because most physicians lack training in the principles of pain management. The first impulse to give narcotics for pain relief must be avoided. Since chronic pain cannot be "cured," an approach must include techniques that allow the patient to adapt to chronic pain so as to limit interference with their life style. A detailed stepwise approach for acute and chronic pain strategies for the patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is outlined. (+info)
Acupuncture for frozen shoulder.
(31/798)
This randomised controlled trial was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for frozen shoulder. Thirty-five patients with a diagnosis of frozen shoulder were randomly allocated to an exercise group or an exercise plus acupuncture group and treated for a period of 6 weeks. Functional mobility, power, and pain were assessed by a blinded assessor using the Constant Shoulder Assessment, at baseline, 6 weeks and 20 weeks. Analysis was based on the intention-to-treat principle. Compared with the exercise group, the exercise plus acupuncture group experienced significantly greater improvement with treatment. Improvements in scores by 39.8% (standard deviation, 27.1) and 76.4% (55.0) were seen for the exercise and the exercise plus acupuncture groups, respectively at 6 weeks (P=0.048), and were sustained at the 20-week re-assessment (40.3% [26.7] and 77.2% [54.0], respectively; P=0.025). We conclude that the combination of acupuncture with shoulder exercise may offer effective treatment for frozen shoulder. (+info)
Does acupuncture have additional value to standard poststroke motor rehabilitation?
(32/798)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A significant number of patients remain severely disabled after stroke despite rehabilitation with standard treatment modalities. Acupuncture has been reported as an alternative modality. This study aims to examine whether acupuncture has additional value to standard poststroke motor rehabilitation. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) was carried out in a stroke rehabilitation unit in Hong Kong. One hundred six Chinese patients with moderate or severe functional impairment were included at days 3 to 15 after acute stroke. They were stratified into the moderate and the severe groups before randomization into the control arm receiving standard modalities of treatment, which included physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy, and skilled medical and nursing care, and the intervention arm receiving in addition traditional Chinese manual acupuncture. A mean of 35 acupuncture sessions on 10 main acupoints were performed over a 10-week period. Outcome measures included Fugl-Meyer assessment, Barthel Index, and Functional Independence Measure, respectively, at weeks 0, 5, and 10, performed by blinded assessors. RESULTS: At baseline, patients in each arm were comparable in all important prognostic characteristics. No statistically significant differences were observed between the 2 arms for any of the outcome measures at week 10 or outcome changes over time. CONCLUSIONS: Traditional Chinese manual acupuncture on the body has no additional value to standard poststroke motor rehabilitation. (+info)