HEALTH: Acupuncture May Help Relieve Fibromyalgia Symptoms

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Monday November 12 1:46 PM ET

Acupuncture May Help Relieve Fibromyalgia Symptoms

By Melissa Schorr

 

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Health) - Acupuncture helped relieve symptoms

such as pain and depression in women with the chronic pain disorder

fibromyalgia, according to research presented here Monday at the annual

meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

 

``Patients not getting enough results from drug therapy should try

honest acupuncture,'' said lead author Dr. Daniel Feldman, head of

rheumatology at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. ``It really

works.''

 

Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes muscle pain, stiffness and

fatigue for unknown reasons. It affects about 2% of Americans, mainly

women.

 

In the study, the researchers randomly assigned 60 women who suffered

from fibromyalgia into three groups. All patients received

amitriptyline, a standard pain modifier used for fibromyalgia, at

bedtime for 16 weeks.

 

In addition, 20 of the women received a once-a-week, 30-minute

acupuncture session while a second group of 20 underwent a once-a-week,

30-minute sham-acupuncture session where they were punctured in areas

not believed to have any effect on pain.

 

The patients were evaluated every month for pain, depression and quality

of life measures by healthcare workers who were unaware which treatment

they were receiving.

 

The researchers reported that patients who received the real acupuncture

were the only ones who showed statistically significant improvement on

measures of pain, depression and mental health after the first month.

 

 

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