Study finds acupuncture relieves symptoms of fibromyalgia

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Study finds acupuncture relieves symptoms of fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia patients treated with six sessions of acupuncture

experienced significant symptomatic improvement compared to a group

given simulated acupuncture sessions according to a new Mayo Clinic

study. The findings will be presented at the 11th World Congress of

the International Association for the Study of Pain in Sydney,

Australia.

" This study shows there is something real about acupuncture and its

effects on fibromyalgia, " says , M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

anesthesiologist and the study’s lead investigator. " Our study was

performed on patients with moderate to severe fibromyalgia. It’s my

speculation that if acupuncture works for these patients with

recalcitrant fibromyalgia -- where previous treatments had not

provided satisfactory relief -- it would likely work for many of the

millions of fibromyalgia patients. "

Acupuncture could fill a gap in available therapies for the disease

as something additive to what medications already can provide, says

Dr. . " There’s not a cure available, so patients are often left

somewhat frustrated by continuing pain and fatigue, " he says.

" Acupuncture is one of the few things shown to be effective for these

symptoms. It may be particularly attractive to patients who are

unable to take medications because of intolerable side effects. "

The study, conducted by Mayo Clinic physicians specializing in pain

management, included 50 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia for whom

other symptom-relief treatments were ineffective. The patients were

randomly assigned to receive acupuncture or simulated acupuncture and

were not informed which treatment they received; these treatments

were administered in six sessions over two to three weeks.

All patients were given questionnaires before treatment, immediately

after treatment, and at one and seven months after treatment to

determine the degree of symptoms they experienced and how the disease

affected their daily lives.

Patients who received acupuncture experienced minimal side effects.

Following treatments, symptoms of pain, fatigue and anxiety were most

significantly improved in the patients given acupuncture. At seven

months post-treatment, the patients’ symptoms of pain, anxiety and

fatigue had returned to baseline levels; the patients experienced the

largest improvement at one month following treatment.

" We expected the acupuncture to improve the pain, " says Dr. .

" We didn’t really expect the largest benefit to be in fatigue or

anxiety. "

Dr. hypothesizes that acupuncture affects symptoms such as

anxiety and fatigue because it may target the root cause and not the

daily symptoms of fibromyalgia. " In a Western view of medicine, we’re

modulating sensory input through acupuncture, " he says. " Whenever

there’s an input to the nervous system, it responds and adapts to the

input -- sometimes in ways that are beneficial to patients. This is

not so different from the traditional Eastern explanation of

acupuncture that describes needles as altering the flow of life

energy, called Qi. "

The Mayo Clinic researchers noted that although the patients saw

improvement in symptoms which had reduced activity level, physical

function did not increase even though the patients were less tired

and felt less pain. " This doesn’t surprise me, as we see this pattern

in other chronic pain problems: you can relieve pain, but it’s a lot

harder to prompt activity changes, " says Dr. . " A chronically

ill person needs more than symptom relief to resume a normal

lifestyle. We’re now beginning to work on that problem. "

Dr. indicates that he believes the study patients would have

seen sustained improvement with ongoing acupuncture. " It’s a

reasonable expectation that if they received more acupuncture after

two to three months, they would have maintained their improvement, "

he says. " Acupuncture usually works for about three months, and then

patients need a less-intensive treatment session. These patients

would need more acupuncture periodically for as long as they

experience fibromyalgia symptoms. "

The patients were unable to guess whether they had been given the

real or the simulated acupuncture. " This was critical, because this

had been a shortcoming of other previous studies with acupuncture --

the simulated acupuncture treatments were not believable to the

patients, " says Dr. .

He explains that fibromyalgia patients have a nervous system disorder

in which they have a " revved up pain threshold " which is exacerbated

by stress and inadequate sleep. " You can take blood tests, X-rays,

muscle tests, and you will find nothing abnormal, " he says. " Many

fibromyalgia patients suffer suspicion from their spouses and friends

that their symptoms are ’all in their head’ or that they lack

sufficient will or fortitude to meet their obligations to work,

family and friends. Usually it comes as a welcome diagnosis when

these patients learn it’s fibromyalgia. Then they can learn ways to

cope with the disorder and gain strength from sharing with others who

have the same problems. "

Dr. describes the patients in this study as moderately

debilitated. " Many have given up work, a lot of recreational

activities, and made adjustments in their lives, " he says. " They have

had a significant psychological burden as a result of the loss of

these activities; it’s become part of their identities. "

Dr. says he’d recommend acupuncture for patients who are

receptive to the concept. The acupuncture used in this study is

available in most communities. Dr. says that to find a

qualified acupuncturist, " Talk to your doctor. Many physicians are

open to complementary medical techniques and can refer you to

qualified practitioners in your area. There are also excellent

resources on the Internet from the National Center for Complementary

and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov). "

Joining Dr. in this research were Mayo Clinic investigators

Sletten, Ph.D.; Ines Berger, M.D. (currently practicing

at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta); and Brent .

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More information:

www.mayoclinic.com

www.iasp-pain.org

www.mayo.edu