Page 49 - IDF Journal 2023

serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and talking therapy. The central mechanism of acupuncture is also believed to underpin its therapeutic effect in ameliorating headaches and migraines.
The central effect of acupuncture is not point specific, i.e. it may be triggered by needles inserted pretty much anywhere in the body. This is a well-known issue when considering research in acupuncture.
Challenges in acupuncture research
A common argument from sceptics is that acupuncture is ‘just a placebo’. They may go even as far as citing papers where acupuncture was found to have little added benefit compared
to ‘placebo’. But here’s the problem - what is ‘placebo’ acupuncture? Whilst it is easy to manufacture a pill that looks exactly like a real drug but contains
no active ingredient, how do you ‘pretend needle’ someone? To solve this problem researchers often use ‘sham’ acupuncture as a control, which mostly involves superficial needling or needling the wrong point. However, as explained above, needling any point on the body will have a segmental and a central effect therefore sham acupuncture cannot be
considered an inactive control in the same way a placebo pill is when compared to
a real drug. This is the reason why drugs like topiramate are considered more effective than acupuncture in migraine treatment even though, when compared head-to-head, even sham acupuncture provides a better effect than topiramate.
NICE recommendations
Despite the difficulties above, acupuncture has been recommended by NICE for the prophylactic treatment of headaches since 2012. More recently, acupuncture also made its way into the NICE recommendation for chronic pain, opening the door to a number of clinical applications and establishing itself as
a valid standalone and complementary treatment for several conditions.
Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment which is easily adapted to different clinical settings. It is cost- effective and has the potential to significantly improve patients’ outcomes and quality of life with a relatively low expense. Considering the ongoing difficulties within the NHS, this is now more relevant than it has ever been before.
Dr Federico Campos, MD
Medical Acupuncturist and Lecturer (BMAS)
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer (Barts and The London School of Medicine - QMUL)
British Medical Acupuncture Society
60 Great Ormond St, London, WC1N 3HR
T: 020 77139437
E: allyson@thebmas.com
W: www.medical-acupuncture. co.uk
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