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Acupuncture helped relieve symptoms such
as pain and depression in women with the chronic pain disorder
fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes
muscle pain, stiffness and fatigue for unknown reasons.
It affects about 2% of Americans, mainly women.
In the study, the researchers randomly
assigned 60 women who suffered from fibromyalgia into three
groups. All patients received amitriptyline, a standard pain
modifier used for fibromyalgia, at bedtime for 16 weeks.
In addition, 20 of the women received
a once-a-week, 30-minute acupuncture session while a second
group of 20 underwent a once-a-week, 30-minute sham-acupuncture
session where they were punctured in areas not believed to
have any effect on pain.
The patients were evaluated every month
for pain, depression and quality of life measures by healthcare
workers who were unaware which treatment they were receiving.
The researchers reported that patients
who received the real acupuncture were the only ones who showed
statistically significant
improvement on measures of pain, depression and
mental health after the first month.
The results lasted for up to 16 weeks,
at which time the patients began regressing slightly and would
need reinforcement acupuncture sessions, Feldman said. "It's
not a one-time treatment.
Annual
Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology San Francisco
November 12, 2001
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