Acupuncture for endometriosis pain 2023

Stimulated by Li et al 2023.[1] Figure 2 from Li et al 2023.[1] RCT – randomised controlled trialVAS – visual analogue score key to acronyms This is the second moderately large (n=106) controlled trial of acupuncture in endometriosis. It is a sham controlled trial. The first was a similarly sized (n=101) cross-over trial using acupuncture … Continue reading Acupuncture for endometriosis pain 2023

Acupuncture for ARC 2022

Inspired by Tu et al 2022.[1] Photo by Anton Nikolov on Unsplash. ARC – acute renal colicBUCM – Beijing University of Chinese MedicineIF – impact factorMA – manual acupunctureIM – intramuscular (injection – a route for administering drugs)NSAID – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugaka – also known asde qi – typical needling sensation perceived by the patient … Continue reading Acupuncture for ARC 2022

The Power of Placebo and MUI

Stimulated by Power et al 2020,[1] and Kang et al 2020.[2] Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Placebo figured heavily in last week’s blog, so I could not overlook this paper when it appeared on PubMed at the end of the same week. The first author has a remarkably suitable name on a paper that tests … Continue reading The Power of Placebo and MUI

Sacral needling 2020

Stimulated by Yuan et al 2019 and Sun et al 2020.[1,2] Photo by Pavel Nekoranec on Unsplash. This is a statue of Prometheus and the Oceanids.I have added coloured dots over BL32, BL33 and BL35. Rather similar to last week’s blog, I was drawn to the first of these papers by the comparison of techniques alluded to in … Continue reading Sacral needling 2020

EA vs conventional Rx in MUI

Inspired by Liu et al. Mayo Clin Proc 2019.[1] Another huge trial from the team at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing. This follows on from two previous large multicentre trials,[2,3] both of which I have reported on in this blog: https://bmas.blog/2018/10/05/ea-for-chronic-severe-functional-constipation/ and https://bmas.blog/2018/10/11/ea-for-stress-urinary-incontinence/ Having established specific effects of electroacupuncture (EA) in … Continue reading EA vs conventional Rx in MUI

EA for stress urinary incontinence

– perhaps via direct pudendal nerve stimulation This blog was first published on 4th December 2017 on BMJ Blogs and subsequently deleted, so I reposted it here. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Earlier in 2017 this paper popped up in JAMA.[1] It was from the same group that had published a huge multicentre trial of electroacupuncture … Continue reading EA for stress urinary incontinence

Segmental EA falls short in ovulation induction

…in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) This blog was first published on 18th November 2017 on BMJ Blogs, but has subsequently been removed. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Finally I have come to address this topic, some months following publication of an eagerly awaited (at least by me) large clinical trial.[1] I have been a … Continue reading Segmental EA falls short in ovulation induction