Five Seasons Women’s Wellness: Health and Wellness Blog

Article: I Have Migraines

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Acupuncture helps two year old Athena overcome the effects of cerebral palsy.
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Acupuncturists Without Borders in Haiti

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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that acupuncture may be effective in treating frequent urinary urge and mixed urinary incontinence (UI) according to a recent pilot study.

In the randomised, double-blinded clinical trial, nine women between the ages of 44 and 66 were randomly assigned to true or sham (placebo control) acupuncture groups.  Both true and sham acupuncture treatments were performed twice a week for six weeks.

Subjects randomised to the true acupuncture group had an average 63.30% reduction in daytime accidents one week after treatment and 67.47% reduction at 4 weeks. In contrast, the average reduction in daytime accidents after sham treatment was 18.88% at 1 week and 16.67% at 4 weeks.

The authors recommend further research to examine the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of UI in women.

An acupuncture session may bring some itch relief to people with the allergic skin condition known as atopic eczema, a preliminary study suggests.

In the recent study published in the journal Allergy, German researchers looked at the short-term effects of acupuncture on skin inflammation and itching in people with atopic eczema.

Researchers found that acupuncture, when done soon after exposure to an allergen, soothed subjective feelings of skin itchiness.

In addition, when patients were exposed to the allergen for a second time shortly after the initial acupuncture session, they tended to have a less-severe skin reaction.

Overall, the research team found, patients’ itchiness ratings were lower after they received true acupuncture, compared with both no treatment and placebo acupuncture.

The United States House of Representatives is currently reviewing a bill (HR 646) that would add acupuncture as a benefit covered under both Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program.

Acupuncture is a safe, effective and cost-effective way to prevent and treat illness.  Passage of this bill would extend acupuncture coverage to 54 million more people and help put our country’s health care system on the track toward becoming more well-rounded and health-focused.

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Federal Acupuncture Coverage Fact Sheet

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A small 2008 study published in Medical Acupuncture reported that acupuncture significantly reduced the pain associated with trigeminal neuralgia for 11 out of 12 study participants.

One participant required only two acupuncture treatments to completely relieve the pain, while the remaining 10 participants required between three and nine treatments to achieve complete relief.

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