Research

Research Past

Chinese medicine, of which acupuncture is a part, is one of the oldest forms of medicine in existence. It is the accumulated wisdom of many generations of practitioner’s who have tried and tested its ideas and practices for thousands years.

Before x- rays, scans and blood tests these practitioners developed a complete system of diagnosis using methodical and detailed observation of the body which continues today. Health, illness and how acupuncture works are explained though the concept of qi, theories of yin and yang and the five elemental phases.

Research Present

Modern science is yet to fully establish the mechanisms of how acupuncture works, however it is has made some recent discoveries which validate some of what traditional acupuncture holds to be true. For example myofascial pathways run along the meridians used by traditional acupuncturists; connections between mind and body and the impact of stress, and how the body’s cells communicate lend credibility to the concept of qi.

Fact sheets describing research into a wide range of conditions are provided by the British Acupuncture Council are listed here:

A

Acne
Allergic rhinitis
Anxiety
Arrhytmias & heart-failure
Asthma

B

Back pain
Bell's palsy

C

Cancer care
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Childbirth
Chronic pain
Colds and flu
COPD
Coronary heart disease
Cystitis

D

Depression
Diabetes Type-2
Dysmenorrhoea

E

Eczema and Psoriasis
Endometriosis

F

Facial pain
Female fertility
Female fertility and IVF briefing paper
Fibromyalgia
Frozen shoulder

G

Gastrointestinal tract disorders

H

Headache
HIV infection
Hypertension

I

Infertility ART
Insomnia
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Kidney stones
Knee pain

M

Male infertility
Menopausal symptoms
Migraines
Multiple sclerosis