Shoulder EA 2020

Inspired by Guan et al 2020,[1] and Dunning et al 2020.[2] MC's favourite EA protocol for chronic shoulder pain (left), best position for the elbows to avoid RC impingement when doing press-ups or holding this mid-press position (lower right)... EA – electroacupuncture; a technique where electrical pulses are passed between pairs of filiform acupuncture needles … Continue reading Shoulder EA 2020

A 76-week trial

Inspired by Soares-Jr et al 2020.[1] Photo by Dellon Thomas on Pexels.com FSH – follicle stimulating hormoneKMI – Kupperman-Blatt Menopausal IndexVMS – vasomotor symptoms key to acronyms This trial (n=123) stood out for me when I watched the video abstract and saw the graph of results. It would have been easy to pass over the … Continue reading A 76-week trial

Plantar heel pain

Inspired by Al-Boloushi et al 2020,[1] and Ho et al 2020.[2] Photo by Min An on Pexels.com These two papers came out towards the end of August and have been waiting to be aired. They both involve needling with filiform acupuncture needles, and they both have ‘plantar heel pain’ in their titles, so they naturally … Continue reading Plantar heel pain

CVD risk reduction from treatment of hot flushes

Inspired by Palma et al 2020.[1] CVD – cardiovascular disease Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Those readers who attended the BMAS Autumn meeting in 2019 may remember some of the details from the paper I am highlighting this week. Professor Angelo Cagnacci gave us a great presentation on his recently published research, and then finished … Continue reading CVD risk reduction from treatment of hot flushes

Epigenetics PD and medical costs

Inspired by Hong et al 2020,[1] Deuel et al 2020,[2] and Tsai et al 2020.[3] PD – Parkinson's Disease Photo by Bess Hamiti on Pexels.com Before I launch into this blog, I want to clarify that the three subjects in the title are almost completely unrelated, apart from the fact that acupuncture figures in all … Continue reading Epigenetics PD and medical costs

CHD risk in OA 2000-12

Inspired by Ton et al 2020.[1] Photo by Hernan Pauccara on Pexels.com CHD – Coronary Heart DiseaseOA – Osteoarthritis This week another large retrospective cohort study from Taiwan. In this paper the target group was patients with osteoarthritis (OA) identified from the LHID 2000 – the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. The LHID 2000 is … Continue reading CHD risk in OA 2000-12

Reviewing, Race & Sex

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com I was spoilt for choice this week! Various papers had the potential to make the cut, but there was no easy way to draw them together, apart from the fact that many were systematic reviews.[1–5] The race and sex from the title refers to a couple of recent experimental papers … Continue reading Reviewing, Race & Sex

Acupuncture for antenatal depression

Stimulated by Ormsby et al 2020.[1] Photo by NEOSiAM 2020 on Pexels.com This is a pragmatic 3-arm comparative trial. It has feasibility in the title, so it may be that the authors are planning a much bigger version. I’ll ask! (No reply as yet...) Pregnant women of 24 weeks gestation who scored 13 or more … Continue reading Acupuncture for antenatal depression

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