Stimulated by Steen et al 2025.[1] MPS – myofascial pain syndrome(s)PM&R – physical medicine and rehabilitationMSK – musculoskeletalLS – lumbosacralIF – impact factorTPI – trigger point injectionLA – local anaestheticDN – dry needlingSR – systematic reviewRCT – randomised controlled trialLTR – local twitch responseIMS – intramuscular stimulation – key to acronyms Review papers on MPS … Continue reading MPS 2025
Inspired by Li et al and He et al 2025.[1,2] Photo by Robina on Unsplash. COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseEA – electroacupunctureAPI – allergic pulmonary inflammationIF – impact factorGOLD – Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease6MWD – 6-minute walk distanceSGRQ – St. George’s Respiratory QuestionnaireHRQoL – health-related quality of lifeMCID – minimal clinically important difference – … Continue reading Acupuncture in COPD 2025
Inspired by Jiang et al 2025.[1] Hugo Pinto demonstrating a protocol for rehabilitation of acute ankle injuries on a boat travelling up the Douro River from Porto. In the BMAS, we refer to this fondly as the 'BMAS Boat Trip'. It was oversubscribed and the day before the BMAS Autumn Scientific Meeting in September 2013. … Continue reading EA for AOA
Inspired by Sun et al 2024.[1] Photo by Dendy on Unsplash – Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. OA – osteoarthritisOAK – OA of the kneeMA – manual acupunctureEA – electroacupunctureWA – warm acupunctureMM – mild moxibustionSA – sham acupunctureVAS – visual analogue scaleWOMAC – Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA indexBMI – body mass indexARC – Acupuncture … Continue reading Acupuncture techniques for OAK
Stimulated by Jun et al 2025.[1] Image of Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda, Iksan. CVD – cardiovascular diseasePSM – propensity score matchingaHR – adjusted hazard ratioCI – confidence interval – key to acronyms This is another one of those large retrospective cohort studies. This time it is from Iksan, Korea and investigates the association of acupuncture with … Continue reading Acupuncture for CVD in disability
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
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
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
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
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
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