Acupuncture is effective treatment of fibromyalgia, especially for symptoms of fatigue and anxiety, according to the results of a prospective, partially blinded, randomized study reported in the June, 2006 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
"The results of the study convince me there is something more than the placebo effect to acupuncture," lead author David P. Martin, MD, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, in Rochester, Minn, said in a news release. "It affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients."
According to the article, more than 90% of patients with fibromyalgia have tried complementary techniques, including dietary and herbal supplements, indicating their openness to complementary medicine and/or inadequate response to allopathic therapies. The National Institutes of Health has issued a consensus statement that concludes that acupuncture may be helpful as adjunctive therapy for fibromyalgia, but there were no previous controlled studies to support this conclusion.
The researchers conclude: "We found that acupuncture significantly improved symptoms of fibromyalgia. Symptomatic improvement was not restricted to pain relief and was most significant for fatigue and anxiety."
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