Sham devices impede real acupuncture 2023

Stimulated by Lee et al 2023.[1] Photo by Iai_man_nung on Unsplash. NMA – network meta-analysisRCT – randomised controlled trialOAK – osteoarthritis of the kneeMA – manual acupunctureEA – electroacupunctureSMD – standardised mean differenceMCID – minimum clinically important differenceNICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence key to acronyms I first wrote about this on … Continue reading Sham devices impede real acupuncture 2023

Antidepressants for pain 2023

Inspired by Ferreira et al 2023.[1] Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.comI chose an image that looks a bit like one formulation of duloxetine – the SNRI that probably figures most prominently in the research discussed. NICE – National Institute for Health and Care ExcellenceSR – systematic reviewSNRIs – serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitorsCI – confidence intervalMCID … Continue reading Antidepressants for pain 2023

Acupuncture for LBPGP 2022

Inspired by Yang et al 2022.[1] Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com LBPGP – low back or pelvic girdle pain during pregnancyNICE – National Institute for Health and Care ExcellenceRCTs – randomised controlled trialsQoL – quality of lifeLBP – low back painPGP – pelvic girdle pain key to acronyms I did see this review paper … Continue reading Acupuncture for LBPGP 2022

Exercise vs IA saline in OAK

Inspired by Bandak et al 2022.[1] IA – intra-articularOA – osteoarthritisOAK – OA kneeGLA:D – Good Life with osteoArthritis in DenmarkUS – ultrasoundKOOS – Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome ScoreSMD – standardised mean difference (a measure of effect size used in meta-analyses)EA – electroacupunctureMCID – minimum clinically important differencekey to acronyms I am very grateful … Continue reading Exercise vs IA saline in OAK

Consider acupuncture for chronic pain

Stimulated by NG193.[1] Photo by Arno Smit on Unsplash. NICE – National Institute for Health & Care ExcellencecLBP – chronic low back painMSK – musculoskeletalGERAC – German acupuncture trials (large 3 arm trials with ~1000 patients in each)MCID – minimum clinical important differenceLA – local anaestheticCRPS – complex regional pain syndromeRFD – radiofrequency denervation.key to … Continue reading Consider acupuncture for chronic pain

Acupuncture, drugs or Botox for chronic migraine?

Stimulated by Zheng et al 2021,[1] Giovanardi et al 2020,[2] and Yin et al 2020.[3] Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com Botox – botulinum toxin type ACI – confidence intervalEBM – evidence based medicinefMRI – functional magnetic resonance imagingGRADE – grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluationIF – impact factorMWoA – migraine without auraNMA – … Continue reading Acupuncture, drugs or Botox for chronic migraine?

Manual acupuncture for migraine

Stimulated by Xu et al.[1] Photo by Anh Nguyen on Unsplash. I casually picked up my copy of the BMJ on Friday 27th March 2020. The date on the cover was 28th March, in case any of you go searching. The cover image is a road sign mandating “Keep your distance”. Obviously COVID-19 is the big story, so … Continue reading Manual acupuncture for migraine

Acupuncture vs propranolol in migraine

Stimulated by Chen et al 2019.[1] Photo by Carolina Heza on Unsplash. I nearly overlooked this paper when it popped up on my PubMed search a few days after being published online in the Journal of Neurology on 21st August 2019. I guess it was the comparison with propranolol, and the fact that beta-blockers have … Continue reading Acupuncture vs propranolol in migraine

Burning nerves with needles in back pain – stop the burning, just use the needles!

This blog was first published on 27th July 2017 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ I subsequently attended the Spanish Pain Society conference (#SEDPalma2018) and there was a whole session devoted to this paper and why it did not apply to the way these specialists used the technique :-/. This piece has also been stimulated by a publication in JAMA, … Continue reading Burning nerves with needles in back pain – stop the burning, just use the needles!

Too NICE – there appears to be a glaring orthodox bias in NG59

This blog was first published on 30th Novenber 2016 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ When the draft clinical guideline for low back pain & sciatica was published in February 2016, it was with some resignation that I noted the 2009 recommendation in CG88 for acupuncture in low back pain (from 6 weeks to 1 year)[1] had been dropped. It … Continue reading Too NICE – there appears to be a glaring orthodox bias in NG59