“Demystifying.462-0324..heumatology..7.:.132–1136. dBi 292 293 This usage has been criticized owing to ethere being little scientific evidence for explicit effects, or the mechanisms for its supposed effectiveness, for any condition that is discernible from placebo. 77 Acupuncture has been called 'theatrical placebo', 57 and David Gorski argues that when acupuncture proponents advocate 'harnessing of placebo effects' or work on developing 'meaningful placebos', they essentially concede it is little more than that. 77 The use of acupuncture in Germany increased by 20% in 2007, after the German acupuncture trials supported its efficacy for certain uses. 294 In 2011, there were more than one million users, 294 and insurance companies have estimated that two-thirds of German users are women. 294 As a result of the trials, German public health insurers began to cover acupuncture for chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee, but not tension headache or migraine. 295 This decision was based in part on socio-political reasons. 295 Some insurers in Germany chose to stop reimbursement of acupuncture because of the trials. 296 For other conditions, insurers in Germany were not acupuncture clinic convinced that acupuncture had adequate benefits over usual care or sham treatments. 297 Highlighting the results of the placebo group, researchers refused to accept a placebo therapy as efficient. 298 Main article: Regulation of acupuncture There are various governments and trade association regulatory bodies for acupuncture in the United Kingdom, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, Canada, and in European countries and elsewhere. In.ther.Ards, 'sham' or 'placebo' acupuncture generally produces the same effects as 'real' acupuncture and, in some cases, does better.” 77 A 2013 meta-analysis found little evidence that the effectiveness of acupuncture on pain compared to sham was modified by the location of the needles, the number of needles used, the experience or technique of the practitioner, or by the circumstances of the sessions. 78 The same analysis also suggested that the number of needles and sessions is important, as greater numbers improved the outcomes of acupuncture compared to non-acupuncture controls. 78 There has been little systematic investigation of which components of an acupuncture session may be important for any therapeutic effect, including needle placement and depth, type and intensity of stimulation, and number of needles used. 75 The research seems to suggest that needles do not need to stimulate the traditionally specified acupuncture points or penetrate the skin to attain an anticipated effect e.g. psychosocial factors. 2 A response to “sham” acupuncture in osteoarthritis may be used in the elderly, but placebos have usually been regarded as deception and thus unethical. 79 However, some physicians and ethicists have suggested circumstances for applicable uses for placebos such as it might present a theoretical advantage of an inexpensive treatment without adverse reactions or interactions with drugs or other medications. 79 As the evidence for most types of alternative medicine such as acupuncture is far from strong, the use of alternative medicine in regular healthcare can present an ethical question. 80 Using the principles of evidence-based medicine to research acupuncture is controversial, and has produced different results. 71 Some research suggests acupuncture can alleviate pain but the majority of research suggests that acupuncture's effects are mainly due to placebo. 9 Evidence suggests that any benefits of acupuncture are short-listing. 14 There is insufficient evidence to support use of acupuncture compared to mainstream medical treatments . 81 Acupuncture is not better than mainstream treatment in the long term. 74 Publication bias is cited as a concern in the reviews of randomized controlled trials CRTs of acupuncture. 57 82 83 A 1998 review of studies on acupuncture found that trials originating in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were uniformly favourable to acupuncture, as were ten out of eleven studies conducted in Russia. 84 A 2011 assessment of the quality of CRTs on ACM, including acupuncture, concluded that the methodological quality of most such trials including randomization, experimental control, and blinding was generally poor, particularly for trials published in Chinese journals though the quality of acupuncture trials was better than the trials testing ACM remedies. 85 The study also found that trials published in non-Chinese journals tended to be of higher quality. 85 Chinese authors use more Chinese studies, which have been demonstrated to be uniformly positive. 86 A 2012 review of 88 systematic reviews of acupuncture published in Chinese journals found that less than half of these reviews reported testing for publication bias, and that the majority of these reviews were published in journals with impact factors of zero. 87 Scientist and journalist Steven Salzburg identifies acupuncture and Chinese medicine generally as a focus for “fake medical journals” such as the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies and Acupuncture in Medicine . 88 The conclusions of many trials and numerous systematic reviews of acupuncture are largely inconsistent with each other. 13 A 2011 systematic review of systematic reviews found that for reducing pain, real acupuncture was no better than sham acupuncture, and concluded that numerous reviews have shown little convincing evidence that acupuncture is an effective treatment for reducing pain. 10 The same review found that neck pain was one of only four types of pain for which a positive effect was suggested, but cautioned that the primary studies used carried a considerable risk of bias. 10 A 2009 overview of Cochran reviews found acupuncture is not effective for a wide range of conditions, and suggested that it may be effective for only chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting, postoperative nausea/vomiting, and idiopathic headache. 13 A 2014 systematic review suggests that the nocebo effect of acupuncture is clinically relevant and that the rate of adverse events may be a gauge of the nocebo effect. 89 According to the 2014 Miller's anaesthesia book, “when compared with placebo, acupuncture treatment has proven efficacy for relieving pain”. 44 A 2012 meta-analysis conducted by the Acupuncture Trialists' Collaboration found “relatively modest” efficiency of acupuncture in comparison to sham for the treatment of four different types of chronic pain back and neck pain, knee osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain and on that basis concluded that it “is more than a placebo” and a reasonable referral option. 90 Commenting on this meta-analysis, both Eduard Ernst and David Colquhoun said the results were of negligible clinical significance. 91 92 Eduard Ernst later stated that “I fear that, once we manage to eliminate this bias that operators are not blind … we might find that the effects of acupuncture exclusively are a placebo response.” 93 A 2010 systematic review suggested that acupuncture is more than a placebo for commonly occurring chronic pain conditions, but the authors acknowledged that it is still unknown if the overall benefit is clinically meaningful or cost-effective. 94 A 2010 review found real acupuncture and sham acupuncture produce similar improvements, which can only be accepted as evidence against the efficacy of acupuncture. 95 The same review found limited evidence that real acupuncture and sham acupuncture appear to produce biological differences despite similar effects. 95 A 2009 systematic review and meta-analysis found that acupuncture had a small analgesic effect, which appeared to lack any clinical importance and could not be discerned from bias. 15 The same review found that it remains unclear whether acupuncture reduces pain independent of a psychological impact of the needling ritual. 15 A 2016 Cochran review found moderate quality evidence that real acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture or inactive for short-term relief of neck pain measured either upon completion of treatment or at short-term follow-up. 96 A 2013 meta-analysis found that acupuncture was better than no treatment for reducing lower back pain, but not better than sham acupuncture, and concluded that the effect of acupuncture “is likely to be produced by the non-specific effects of manipulation”. 97 A 2013 systematic review found supportive evidence that real acupuncture may be more effective than sham acupuncture with respect to relieving lower back pain, but there were methodological limitations with the studies. 98 A 2013 systematic review found that acupuncture may be effective for non-specific lower back pain, but the authors noted there were limitations in the studies examined, such as heterogeneity in study characteristics and low methodological quality in many studies. 99 A 2012 systematic review found some supporting evidence that acupuncture was more effective than no treatment for chronic non-specific low back pain; the evidence was conflicting comparing the effectiveness over other treatment approaches. 12 A 2011 systematic review of systematic reviews found that “for chronic low back pain, individualized acupuncture is not better in reducing symptoms than formula acupuncture or sham acupuncture with a toothpick that does not penetrate the skin.” 10 A 2010 review found that sham acupuncture was as effective as real acupuncture for chronic low back pain. 2 The specific therapeutic effects of acupuncture were small, whereas its clinically relevant benefits were mostly due to contextual and psychosocial circumstances. 2 Brain imaging studies have shown that traditional acupuncture and sham acupuncture differ in their effect on limbic structures, while at the same time showed equivalent analgesic effects. 2 A 2005 Cochran review found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against either acupuncture or dry needling for acute low back pain. 100 The same review found low quality evidence for pain relief and improvement compared Additionally, by the 18th century, scientific rationality was becoming more popular than traditional superstitious beliefs. 27 By 1757 a book documenting the history of Chinese medicine called acupuncture a “lost art”. 29 :160 Its decline was attributed in part to the popularity of prescriptions and medications, as well as its association with the lower classes. 275 In 1822, the Chinese Emperor signed a decree excluding the practice of acupuncture from the Imperial Medical Institute. 27 He said it was unfit for practice by gentlemen-scholars. 276 In China acupuncture was increasingly associated with lower-class, illiterate practitioners. 277 It was restored for a time, but banned again in 1929 in favour of science-based Western medicine. Acupuncture.became.he most popular alternative medicine in the US. 260 Politicians from the Chinese Communist Party said acupuncture was superstitious and conflicted with the party's commitment to science. 279 Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong later reversed this position, 279 arguing that the practice was based on scientific principles. 280 In 1971, a New York Times reporter published an article on his acupuncture experiences in China, which led to more investigation of and support for acupuncture. 27 The US President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972 . 281 During one part of the visit, the delegation was shown a patient undergoing major surgery while fully awake, ostensibly receiving acupuncture rather than anaesthesia . 281 Later it was found that the patients selected for the surgery had both a high pain tolerance and received heavy indoctrination before the many governments have adopted similar standards. 299 In China, the practice of acupuncture is regulated by the Chinese Medicine Council that was formed in 1999 by the Legislative Council.
In.008 a sJudy determined that the use of acupuncture-needle treatment on children was “questionable” due to Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare after passing an examination and graduating from a technical school or university. 303 Australia regulates Chinese medical traditions through the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia and the Public Health Skin Penetration Regulation of 2000. The.tudy also includes warnings against practising acupuncture on infants, as well as on children who are over-fatigued, very weak, or have overeaten. 240 When used on children, acupuncture is considered safe when administered by well-trained, licensed practitioners using sterile needles; however, a 2011 review found there was limited research to draw definite conclusions about the overall safety of paediatric acupuncture. 3 The same review found 279 adverse events, 25 of them serious. 3 The adverse events were mostly mild in nature e.g. bruising or bleeding. 3 The prevalence of mild adverse events ranged from 10.1% to 13.5%, an estimated 168 incidences among 1,422 patients. 3 On rare occasions adverse events were serious e.g. cardiac rupture or hemoptysis ; much might have been a result of substandard practice. 3 The incidence of serious adverse events was 5 per one million, which included children and adults. 3 When used during pregnancy, the majority of adverse events caused by acupuncture were mild and transient, with few serious adverse events. 241 The most frequent mild adverse event was needling or unspecified pain, followed by bleeding. 241 Although two deaths one stillbirth and one neonatal death were reported, there was a lack of acupuncture-associated maternal mortality. 241 Limiting the evidence as certain, probable or possible in the causality evaluation, the estimated incidence of adverse events following acupuncture in pregnant women was 131 per 10,000. 241 Although acupuncture is not contraindicated in pregnant women, some specific acupuncture points are particularly sensitive to needle insertion; these spots, as well as the abdominal region, should be avoided during pregnancy. 2 Four adverse events associated with moxibustion were bruising, burns and cellulitis, spinal epidural abscess, and large superficial basal cell carcinoma. 16 Ten adverse events were associated with cupping. 16 The minor ones were keloid scarring, burns, and bullae ; 16 the serious ones were acquired haemophilia A, stroke following cupping on the back and neck, factitious panniculitis, reversible cardiac hypertrophy, and iron deficiency anaemia . 16 A 2013 meta-analysis found that acupuncture for chronic low back pain was cost-effective as a complement to standard care, but not as a substitute for standard care except in cases where co morbid depression presented. 19 The same meta-analysis found there was no difference between sham and non-sham acupuncture. 19 A 2011 systematic review found insufficient evidence for the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain. 20 A 2010 systematic review found that the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture could not be concluded. around assumed reflex zones of the hand.

Tin,.opper,.old and silver are aalso possibilities, though they are considered less likely, or to have been used in fewer cases. 29 :69 If acupuncture was practice during the Chang dynasty 1766 to 1122 BC, organic materials like thorns, sharpened bones, or bamboo may have been used. 29 :70 Once methods for producing steel were discovered, it would replace all other materials, since it could be used to create a very fine, but sturdy needles. 29 :74 Gwei-djen and Needham noted that needling in the wrong place, or at the wrong time. 29 :102-103 Later, many needles were heated in boiling water, or in a flame. In 2008 a sJudy determined that the use of acupuncture-needle treatment on children was “questionable” due to patients and which treatments should go with which diagnoses. Since most pain is felt in the superficial layers of the skin, a quick insertion of the needle is recommended. 50 Often the needles are stimulated by hand in order to cause a dull, localized, aching sensation that is called de qi, as well as “needle grasp,” a tugging feeling felt by the acupuncturist and generated by a mechanical interaction between the needle and skin. 2 Acupuncture can be painful. 2008. The.tudy.lso includes warnings against practising acupuncture on infants, as well as on children who are over-fatigued, very weak, or have overeaten. 240 When used on children, acupuncture is considered safe when administered by well-trained, licensed practitioners using sterile needles; however, a 2011 review found there was limited research to draw definite conclusions about the overall safety of paediatric acupuncture. 3 The same review found 279 adverse events, 25 of them serious. 3 The adverse events were mostly mild in nature e.g. bruising or bleeding. 3 The prevalence of mild adverse events ranged from 10.1% to 13.5%, an estimated 168 incidences among 1,422 patients. 3 On rare occasions adverse events were serious e.g. cardiac rupture or hemoptysis ; much might have been a result of substandard practice. 3 The incidence of serious adverse events was 5 per one million, which included children and adults. 3 When used during pregnancy, the majority of adverse events caused by acupuncture were mild and transient, with few serious adverse events. 241 The most frequent mild adverse event was needling or unspecified pain, followed by bleeding. 241 Although two deaths one stillbirth and one neonatal death were reported, there was a lack of acupuncture-associated maternal mortality. 241 Limiting the evidence as certain, probable or possible in the causality evaluation, the estimated incidence of adverse events following acupuncture in pregnant women was 131 per 10,000. 241 Although acupuncture is not contraindicated in pregnant women, some specific acupuncture points are particularly sensitive to needle insertion; these spots, as well as the abdominal region, should be avoided during pregnancy. 2 Four adverse events associated with moxibustion were bruising, burns and cellulitis, spinal epidural abscess, and large superficial basal cell carcinoma. 16 Ten adverse events were associated with cupping. 16 The minor ones were keloid scarring, burns, and bullae ; 16 the serious ones were acquired haemophilia A, stroke following cupping on the back and neck, factitious panniculitis, reversible cardiac hypertrophy, and iron deficiency anaemia . 16 A 2013 meta-analysis found that acupuncture for chronic low back pain was cost-effective as a complement to standard care, but not as a substitute for standard care except in cases where co morbid depression presented. 19 The same meta-analysis found there was no difference between sham and non-sham acupuncture. 19 A 2011 systematic review found insufficient evidence for the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain. 20 A 2010 systematic review found that the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture could not be concluded. that it can cure disease; the evidence of effectiveness is negligible. 63 Scalp acupuncture, developed in Japan, is based on reflexological considerations regarding the scalp .