Aktueller Überblick über die klinischen Ergebnisse (Medical Acupuncture, Sep. 2007)
Table 2. Overview of Treatment Data, 2001 - 2006*
| Orthopedics | Neurology/Pschology | Internal Medicine |
| Gonarthrosis (n = 425) | Migraine and other headache syndroms (n = 343) | Allergic diseases (n = 76) |
| Spinal column syndromes (n = 405) |
Psychovegetative fatigue (n = 98) |
Gastrointestinal disorders (n = 65) |
| Tennis elbow (n = 144) |
Depressions (n = 95) |
Disorders in peripheral circulation (n = 49) |
| Coxarthrosis (n = 135) |
Tinnitus (n = 81) |
Bronchial asthma (n = 44) |
| Shoulder syndromes (n = 127) |
Toxicomania (smoking, drugs) (n = 80) |
|
| Morbus Bechterew and polyarthritis (n = 88) |
Residual paresis after stroke (n = 77) |
|
| Tendinitis (n = 88) | Trigeminal neuralgia (n = 29) | |
| Rhizarthrosis (n = 48) | ||
| Fibromyalgia (n = 28) |
* Patients receiving ≥ 10 treatments.
The German GERAC-Study (2001-2007)
In Germany (2001-2006), the world’s largest acupuncture study was undertaken. This study, the German Acupuncture Trial (Gerac-study), initiated by the government and health insurance companies, examined 2,201 patients with low back pain, gonarthrosis, and headache/migraine. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with TCM needle acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or a conventional therapy. Additionally, a cohort study with 367,646 patients was performed to prove the efficacy of acupuncture in general medical practice. In this study, low back pain, arthrosis of knee and hip joint, headache, and migraine were included as well. The authors’ patients took part in these studies, and 1,395patients were treated with needle acupuncture, using the protocol of the Gerac-study:
Table 3. Orthopedic Patients Receiving Laser Needle Acupuncture
(N = 1,500)*
| Mean (SD) Visual Analog Scale Score |
||||||||
| Knee (n = 50) |
Low Back Pain (n = 50) |
Shoulder (n = 50) |
Headache/Migrane (n = 50) |
|||||
| Baseline | 6.7 (1.9) | 6.6 (2.1) | 6.3 (2.2) | 7.3 (2.5) | ||||
| 3 Months | 3.6 (2.5) | 3.3 (2.6) | 4.0 (2.4) | 3.5 (2.7) | ||||
| 6 Months | 3.8 (2.3) | 3.5 (2.7) | 4.1 (2.6) | 3.4 (2.8) | ||||
* Significant differences were found between baseline and 3-6 months after treamtment (P < .01 by t test), but not between the third and sixth months. (Error bars indicate SD.)
Fig. 10. Pain relief after treatment of 4 different pain syndromes 3 - 6 months later. VAS indicates visual analog scale. (This group of patients treated with laser needle acupuncture only.)
