Acupuncture for Migraines and Chronic Pain? New Study Says Definitely Yes

As far as research about the effects of acupuncture goes, an article in the latest Archives of Internal Medicine is powerful. The lead author, Dr. Andrew J. Vickers, is "attending research methodologist" at arguably the most conventional medical center on the planet, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York..

But like all docs Vickers has a vested interest in patient well-being. Chronic pain is a reality of life for many Memorial patients, and alleviating pain is an important measure of quality of life, ergo the success of any treatment.

Dr. Vicker's goal was to look at all of the known research on acupuncture and pain relief; but rather than gather all of the research results and look for patterns (as most so-called meta-analyses do) these researchers asked for raw data from all the studies that met their strict criteria, and re-analyzed the data themselves.  After six years of digging through the studies of some 18,000 individuals (who received acupuncture compared to no acupuncture and fake acupuncture) Vickers and his colleagues financed by the National Institute of Health came to some solid conclusions.

“We think there’s firm evidence supporting acupuncture for the treatment of chronic pain,” Dr. Vickers told The New York Times .  

In their conclusion the authors call their result "the most robust evidence to date that acupuncture is a reasonable referral option for patients with chronic pain."

This study should free up conventional doctors to recommend acupuncture for recalcitrant chronic pain. And it may very well open the door for broader insurance coverage of acupuncture. Good news for people looking for non-drug relief of chronic back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, and migraines--all of which studies show were helped by acupuncture.