Acupuncture: Technique for treating some painful conditions and for regional anesthesia by passing long thin needles through the skin to specific points. Needles of various shapes are inserted into the skin with the purported aim of stimulating acupoints, which supposedly enable direct influence of the flow of Qi (chi). Practitioners may be called “acupuncturists” or “acupuncture therapists.” Most forms of acupuncture are unnaturalistic. Neuro-electric acupuncture and New Scientific ElectroAcupuncture—and, apparently, osteopuncture—are naturalistic. (Also known as acupuncture therapy, Zhenjiu.)
Research Spotlight
The databases often return hundreds of medical studies for a single wellness approach. This section summarizes a sampling of five studies – providing just a taste of the available research. These Spotlights were not selected because they are the most favorable or the most recent, but to provide you an introduction to the more extensive research you’ll uncover searching the four databases found in the “Research” section of this site.
- Meta-Study Reveals Limited Correlation of Acupuncture and Long-Term Smoking Cessation
A Cochrane review (2014, 38 randomized controlled trials) concluded there was not enough consistent evidence that active acupuncture increased the number of people who could successfully quit smoking. However, some acupuncture techniques may be better than doing nothing, in the short term.
Access this research on Acupuncture
