Acupuncture

1
Acupuncture

• By Jennifer Dixon Amber Hart

2
Definition of Acupuncture

• An alternative medicine that treats patients by
  insertion and manipulation of needles in the body.

3
Acupuncture Needles

• Made of stainless steel wire
• Sterile and most are disposable
• Length ranges from 13mm to 130 mm
• Diameter range from .16mm to .46mm

4
Studies Reviewed

• Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture as Perineal Pain Relief
  After Mediolateral Episiotomy A Pilot Study
  (2011)
• 42 women enrolled in trial, 21 treated with
  acupuncture, 21 not treated with acupuncture
  (control group)
• Results Request for oral analgesics were
  significantly more frequent in the control group
• Acupuncture 8/21 requested oral medication
• Control group 21/21 requested oral medication
• Conclusion Wrist-ankle acupuncture is an
  effective method of reducing the pain experienced
  by women due to mediolateral episiotomy after
  childbirth.

5
Studies Reviewed

• Effects of Acupuncture Stimulation on Recovery
  Ability of Male Elite Basketball Athletes (2009)
• 30 male elite university basketball players
  randomly assigned to 3 groups acupuncture group,
  sham group, and normal (control) group.
• Results Acupuncture group had significantly
  lower Hrmax, VO2max and blood lactic acid than
  both the sham and control group at 30 minutes
  post-exercise. Acupuncture group had
  significantly lower blood lactic acid than other
  two groups 60 minutes post-exercise.
• Conclusion Effective acupuncture can be used to
  enhance the recovery ability for elite basketball
  athletes.

6
Studies Reviewed

• Acupuncture reduces crying in infants with
  infantile colic a randomized, controlled, blind
  clinical study (2010)
• 90 healthy infants aged 2-8 weeks old with
  infantile colic, divided into acupuncture and
  non-acupuncture (control) groups
• Results Duration of fussing was shorter in the
  acupuncture group during the first and second
  intervention weeks. The duration of colicky
  crying was shorter in the acupuncture group
  during the second intervention week.
• Conclusion Minimal acupuncture shortened the
  duration and reduced the intensity of crying in
  infants with colic.

7
Studies Reviewed

• Unexplained infertility treated with acupuncture
  and herbal medicine in Korea
• 104 Korean women experiencing infertility lasting
  an average of 33 weeks
• Results Of the original 104 participants, only
  23 remained at the end of the study and 14 of
  those 23 yielded a pregnancy
• Conclusion Acupuncture is effective in the
  treatment of infertility

8
Studies Reviewed

• Acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis a
  randomized trial using a novel sham
• 570 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee
  (average age of 65) split into 3 groups,
  acupuncture group, sham group, and education only
  group.
• Results After 26 weeks of treatment, the
  acupuncture group had a reduction in pain and
  showed improvement in function.
• Conclusion Acupuncture can be used to treat
  osteoarthritis of the knee.

9
Studies Reviewed

• Traditional acupuncture in migraine a
  controlled, randomized study
• 160 patients diagnosed with migraines without
  aura, split into 4 groups
• Acupuncture and rizatriptan
• Ritualized mock acupuncture and rizatriptan
• Standard mock acupuncture and rizatriptan
• Only rizatriptan
• Results The only group to show significant
  improvement at both 3 and 6 months was the group
  receiving true acupuncture
• Conclusion Acupuncture used in conjunction with
  conventional medicine can make an improvement in
  the treatment of migraines

10
Incorporating Acupuncture into APN

• Make referrals for patients to an acupuncturist
• Know the limitations and risks of acupuncture
• Educate patients on benefits of acupuncture
• Keep current on acupuncture research