Acupuncture plus manipulation in LDH

Stimulated by Shi et al 2025.[1] Diagram illustrating the acupuncture protocol from Shi et al 2025 [1] – unilateral points are in the unaffected side. LDH – lumbar disc herniationRCT – randomised controlled trialVAS – visual analogue scaleJOA – Japanese Orthopaedic Association score for low back painSIJ – sacroiliac jointSR – systematic reviewGRADE – Grading … Continue reading Acupuncture plus manipulation in LDH →

Muscle pain – a neuroanatomical basis

Stimulated by Hoheisel et al 2025.[1] Top part of Figure 1 in Hoheisel et al 2025.[1] DRG – dorsal root ganglionFG – fluorogold or fluorochrome yellowc-fos – a protein from the Fos family widely used as a marker for neuronal activityc-fos-ir – c-fos immunoreactivityDH – dorsal horn (of the spinal cord)VLP – ventral posterolateral nucleus … Continue reading Muscle pain – a neuroanatomical basis →

TEAS after CVA surgery

Stimulated by Chen et al 2024.[1] Diagram by MC illustrating the treatment used in the trial by Chen et al 2024.[1] TEAS – transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (ie a form of TENS)TENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulationCVA – cerebrovascular accidentIF – impact factorRCT – randomised controlled trialICU – intensive care unitGCS – Glasgow coma scaleGI … Continue reading TEAS after CVA surgery →

Acupuncture or reflexology for sleep in ALL

Stimulated by Babamiri et al 2025.[1] Photo by Jonathan Borba on Pexels.com ALL – acute lymphoblastic leukaemiaIF – impact factorAML – acute myeloblastic leukaemiaCML – chronic myeloblastic leukaemiaCLL – chronic lymphoblastic leukaemiaPSQI – Pittsburgh sleep quality indexMCID – minimum important clinical difference – key to acronyms There are several novel aspects about the paper I … Continue reading Acupuncture or reflexology for sleep in ALL →

IA plus SSRI in MDD

Stimulated by Wu et al 2024.[1] IA – intradermal acupunctureSSRI – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitorMDD – major depressive disorderEA – electroacupunctureMA – manual acupunctureIF – impact factorZung SDS – Zung self-rating depression scalePSQI – Pittsburgh sleep quality indexFC – functional connectivityMCID – minimal clinically important differenceGPT – generative pre-trained transformer – key to acronyms I … Continue reading IA plus SSRI in MDD →

Does sham point location matter 3

Stimulated by Lee et al 2024.[1] SR – systematic reviewNMA – network meta-analysisKIOM – Korean Institute of Oriental MedicineSATS – sham acupuncture therapy sham pointSATV – sham acupuncture therapy verum pointRR50 – responder rate defined as a 50% reduction in headache days per month – key to acronyms It is a year ago since I … Continue reading Does sham point location matter 3 →

Acupuncture AEs 2024

Inspired by a variety of recent case reports. AI generated image. AEs – adverse eventsPDP – personal development planCXR – chest x ray filmSPs – spinous processesBP – blood pressuremmHg – millimetres of mercury (units of fluid pressure)HR – heart ratebpm – beats per minuteTHA – total hip arthroplastyIBD – inflammatory bowel diseaseESI – epidural … Continue reading Acupuncture AEs 2024 →

Acupuncture and injury risk after stroke 2024

Inspired by Wang et al 2024.[1] AI generated image. LGTD – longitudinal generational tracking databaseaHR – adjusted hazard ratioCCI – Charleston comorbidity index (see previous blog)PD – Parkinson’s diseaseGPT – generative pre-trained transformerCI – confidence intervalPSA – post-stroke aphasia – key to acronyms This is another large retrospective cohort study from Taiwan, this time looking … Continue reading Acupuncture and injury risk after stroke 2024 →

EA or MA for CHHF 2024

Inspired by Kwon et al 2024.[1] AI generated image. EA – electroacupunctureMA – manual acupuncture (referred to as AC in the paper)CHHF – cold hypersensitivity in the hands and feetVAS – visual analogue scaleWHOQOL-BREF – World Health Organisation quality of life brief scaleQoL – quality of lifeANOVA – analysis of variance – key to acronyms … Continue reading EA or MA for CHHF 2024 →

SCs in endometriosis pain 2024

Inspired by Titiz et al 2024.[1] AI generated image. SCs – Schwann cellsIF – impact factorAMA – abdominal mechanical allodyniaPMA – periorbital mechanical allodyniaHMA – hind paw mechanical allodyniaC5a – a small soluble pro-inflammatory peptide that functions as an anaphylatoxinDAMPs – damage-associated molecular patternsC5aR1 – C5a receptor 1GPCR – G protein-coupled receptorNLRP1 – NOD-like receptor … Continue reading SCs in endometriosis pain 2024 →