So-called Sham Acupuncture

"The appropriateness of using minimal, superficial, or sham control groups in trials of acupuncture remains controversial.28 In fact, the use of blunt needles that did not penetrate the skin was described 2000 years ago in the classic book on acupuncture needling.29 A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging found that superficial and deep needling of an acupuncture point elicited similar blood oxygen level–dependent responses.30 Another study demonstrated that lightly touching the skin can stimulate mechanoreceptors that induce emotional and hormonal reactions, which in turn alleviate the affective component of pain.31 This could explain why trials evaluating acupuncture for pain have failed to find that real acupuncture is superior to sham or superficial control treatments and raises questions about whether sham treatments truly serve as inactive controls."  JAMA

​

Safety of Acupuncture

MacPherson  HThomas  KWalters  SFitter  M A prospective survey of adverse events and treatment reactions following 34,000 consultations with professional acupuncturists.  Acupunct Med 2001;19 (2) 93- 102PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

​

White  AHayhoe  SHart  AErnst  E Adverse events following acupuncture: prospective survey of 32 000 consultations with doctors and physiotherapists.  BMJ 2001;323 (7311) 485- 486PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

​

Acupuncture for Migraines

A considerable number of patients do not respond well to drug treatment, cannot tolerate the adverse effects of drugs, or have contraindications, which can lead to low adherence, chronification of headache, and acute drug overuse.50 Our results show that acupuncture can be recommended as an effective alternative treatment. Although sham acupuncture produced a minor benefit in reducing migraine attacks, the differences between manual acupuncture and sham acupuncture support the specific effects of manual acupuncture. On the basis of our results, clinical acupuncturists should pay careful attention to the specific components of acupuncture, including acupuncture points, needle manipulation, and acupuncture sensations, and the non-specific effects of acupuncture (acupuncture ritual or expectation for efficacy5152) should also not be neglected in clinical practice. In randomised controlled trials of acupuncture, the sham acupuncture group should not use penetrating needles.  BMJ

​

​