Top studies in acupuncture this week: Here’s how to lose weight, reduce period pain

The ancient Chinese form of treatment — acupuncture — is an effective alternative treatment for a range of diseases and medical conditions. Here’s what some of the latest research says about it:

Acupuncture might be an effective way to lose those extra kilos.

Trying to shed those extra kilos? You may want to add acupuncture to your weight loss plan as a recent study has suggested that it is effective. The School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) of Hong Kong Baptist University completed a clinical trial on the use of acupuncture for weight control. After an eight-week treatment, the average body weight of the participants decreased by 2.47 kg, with a weight loss of 7.2 kg for the most successful participant, whose Body Mass Index (BMI) dropped by 3.2 kg/m2.

It doesn’t help in curing PCOS-induced infertility.

A study by Pennsylvania State University in the United States has found that acupuncture alone or with the medication may not be effective in treating infertility in women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a hormonal disorder causing small cysts on the outer edges of the ovaries, which in turn results in them getting enlarged. Clomiphene is the first-line of treatment used to induce ovulation in women with PCOS.

It is as effective in treating acute pain as painkillers.

Acupuncture is as effective as pain medicine in providing long-term relief for patients who come to emergency departments in considerable pain, concluded the world’s largest randomised controlled trial of acupuncture, while cautioning that more studies are needed before declaring it as an effective alternative to drug therapy. The study, done in the emergency departments of four Melbourne hospitals, showed pain management remains a critical issue, with neither treatment providing adequate immediate relief.

Acupuncture can offer relief from severe period pain.

Research carried out by researchers from Western Sydney University, Australia and the University of Auckland, New Zealand, looked at the effect of acupuncture on Primary Dysmenorrhea, more commonly known as period pain. Primary Dysmenorrhea is the most common gynaecological complaint in menstruating women, with up to four in five women suffering from it at some stage. The results showed that over half the women who received manual acupuncture had at least 50% reduction in the severity of their period pain over the course of the three-month treatment.

Acupuncture may help calm babies who cry excessively.

Is your baby crying for more than three hours often? Chances are your baby has a problem called infantile colic (simply baby colic). As per a new study, acupuncture may have the potential to effectively reduce incidences of excessive crying in babies with colic pain.

Source: HT