Inspired by César and his prolific output of papers.[1–7] Photo Tim De Pauw on Unsplash. This is intended to represent fatigue, the most common of the post-COVID symptoms. MSK – musculoskeletalCOVID – all contemporary readers are aware of what this is, but if you have found this page from somewhere in the distant future, it … Continue reading MSK pain and COVID-19
Category: Clinical practice
EA for surgical ToP
Inspired by Ng et al 2021.[1] Photo by Andy Wang on Unsplash. EA – electroacupunctureToP – termination of pregnancyIVF – invitro fertilisationRCT – randomised controlled trialSE – suction evacuationIM – intramuscularAA – auricular acupuncturekey to acronyms This paper was published online in Acupuncture in Medicine last month and comes from a well-known research group led … Continue reading EA for surgical ToP
MPS in patients with CA 2022
Inspired by Hasuo et al 2021a&b and Ishiki et al 2021.[1–3] Graphic by MC shows characteristic referred pain patterns from the most common trigger points in trapezius on the right and other possible sites of trapezius trigger points on the left. MPS – myofascial pain syndromeCA – cancer (in this case ‘incurable’ cancer) aka ‘the … Continue reading MPS in patients with CA 2022
Adjuvant acupuncture in cancer treatment 2021
Inspired by Ke et al 2021 and Shih et al.[1,2] Looking into the destruction chamber of a proteasome. Image by Thomas Splettstoesser (www.scistyle.com), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. EA – electroacupunctureMM – multiple myelomaLC-MS – liquid chromatography mass spectrometryUHPLC-MS – ultra high performance LC-MSMA – manual acupunctureSR – systematic reviewkey to acronyms For the … Continue reading Adjuvant acupuncture in cancer treatment 2021
EA vs metformin for IR in PCOS 2021
Inspired by Wen et al 2021.[1] Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash. The admittedly tenuous link to this week's blog is of course FINS, which feature in both. EA – electroacupunctureMA – manual acupunctureIR – insulin resistancePCOS – polycystic ovary syndromeRCT – randomised controlled trialBMI – body mass indexHOMA-IR – homeostatic model assessment of … Continue reading EA vs metformin for IR in PCOS 2021
PID regression 2021
Inspired by Hu et al 2021.[1] Photo by Neonbrand on Unsplash. PID – prolapsed intervertebral discIMHO – in my humble opinionMRI – magnetic resonance imaging key to acronyms Over the years I have seen many patients with back pain, including those with the source of pain in the back that presents as pain somewhere in … Continue reading PID regression 2021
Acupuncture for ARC 2021
Inspired by Zhang et al 2021.[1] Photo by Anton Nikolov on Unsplash. ARC – acute renal colicIF – impact factorMA – manual acupunctureIM – intramuscular (injection – a route for administering drugs)IV – intravenous (ditto)NSAID – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugCOX – cyclooxygenaseSEs – side effectsVAS – visual analogue scale (score) key to acronyms This is a … Continue reading Acupuncture for ARC 2021
Acupuncture for TD
Acupuncture for tic disorders in children 2021 Inspired by You et al 2021.[1] Photo by Freeman Zhou on Unsplash. TD – tic disordersYGTSS – Yale Global Tic Severity ScaleTSS – total tic score (of the YGTSS)GSS – global severity score (of the YGTSS)ADHD – attention deficit hyperactivity disorderOCD – obsessive compulsive disorderkey to acronyms This … Continue reading Acupuncture for TD
Risk of T2DM in RA
Inspired by Chen et al 2021.[1] Tea fields, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. Photo by Alexa Soh on Unsplash. T2DM – type 2 diabetes mellitusRA – rheumatoid arthritisCHD – coronary heart diseaseaHR – adjusted hazard ratioMA – manual acupunctureEA – electroacupunctureTNFα – tumour necrosis factor alpha (a potent inflammatory cytokine)LHID – longitudinal health insurance database … Continue reading Risk of T2DM in RA
EA and the gut microbiome
Inspired by Wang et al 2021.[1] Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.comWhilst I think EA is great in KOA, the most direct way of influencing the microbial diversity in the gut is through what we chose to put in it. All the data suggests that colourful vegetables are probably the most important component of diet … Continue reading EA and the gut microbiome









You must be logged in to post a comment.